Season 3
by Jason S. Black
Summary: If, like me, you were disillusioned by the switch So Weird made in Season 3, fear not. Fi's still here. Current chapter: "Annie."
1. S2, E26: Twin, alternate ending

**Season 2, Episode 26: ****"Twin" (alternate ending**)

Fi's blood ran cold as the door slammed shut in front of her. She took a few steps forward and jiggled the handle; the door wasn't budging. She heard her aunt's voice on the other side, frantic.

"Fi? Fiona!" Now feeling a chill all over her entire body, Fi tried harder to open the door, unable to shake the feeling that something was coming. In a futile gesture, she pounded the steel with her fist, but froze when she saw the brick wall next to the door cracking open to reveal an otherworldly light.

Suddenly, the wall gave way to reveal three black robed, faceless wraiths. She gave a cry as she felt pure, unadulterated fear flooding her veins. The beings before her were the very essence of evil. She turned and ran; she needed to get as far away as she could. She stopped when she reached the edge and turned around to see the wraiths closing in.

"Who are you!? And why are you doing this!?" she screamed, but threw up her arms to protect her face as they flew at her. She felt an immense force and was lifted off of her feet, tumbling over the edge. It was her last second instinct that saved her; she grabbed the ledge and held on, realizing that she was hanging off of the top of the building. The scream she gave shattered the air.

-X-

As soon as she finished singing the line before the guitar solo, Molly swung her head up and felt an overwhelming sense of fear as, somehow, she knew her premonition was coming true, just like it had the night Rick had left.

-X-

Fi started to panic as she hung by her fingertips from the stone ledge.

"Help! I'm gonna fall!" she called, trying to gain a foothold on the smooth stone. Somewhere below her, she heard her aunt calling out, along with…Jack?

"No…" she said between breaths, feeling her fingers slipping. A series of startled screams escaped her mouth as she slipped more and more until she fell.

Her heart stopped in the same moment she did.

She looked up to see a hand grabbing hers; one that belonged to a spirit who was becoming solid. It was…

…her father.

"Daddy?" She said, almost overtaken by the relief she was feeling. Her father's hand pulled her up until she was standing in front of him. She couldn't believe it; after all this time searching, here he was. He faded into a more spectral form as he stood in front of her.

"Is it really you?" she asked.

"Yes, baby, it's me," he said. Overcome, she stepped forward to hug her father, but stopped when she realized that she was passing through him.

"Daddy, what's happening?" she asked, taking a few deep breaths.

"There are forces on my side that are jealous of the living. That was one of them. They can't hurt you; not with me protecting you. That's what dads do, right?" he asked, smiling slightly. They both whirled to look at the brick wall, which exploded outward with the same ethereal light as before.

Time seemed to stop as she felt the evil again, but this time, she knew it wasn't coming for her.

The wraiths exploded out of the void, flying through the air to swoop down on Rick. He was hit, knocked over the roof as she had been. In the seconds that he fell, she saw her father reach out to her.

"Fiona! I love you!" he said, and she dived toward the edge of the roof. He vanished, and the wraiths went back into the wall, burning a message into the brick as they left. She stepped forward to read the text, and balled her fist when she saw that it was in her father's code.

"Next time, it's you," she read aloud, and the text vanished as Rachel and Jack burst onto the roof.

"Fi!" Jack said, running over to his sister with his aunt in close second.

"Fiona! What happened?" Rachel asked, but Fi turned to her brother. She took a few steps forward and threw her arms around him, weeping. He was surprised, but he put his arms around her as well.

-X-

"Hey, Molly, that was a great performance and a great interview!" Molly sighed; the overeager producer she'd had to work with was throwing false praise her way again.

"Not now. I have to go find my daughter," she said, throwing her coat on. Ever since she'd "seen" Fi go off the roof, she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad had happened and she'd been stuck in some studio singing. She'd never forgive herself if something happened to Fi.

"Irene! Have you seen Jack?" she said, running over to the blond woman.

"No, why?" Irene replied, looking at Molly.

"Did he take the cell phone with him?" Molly asked, anxious to find out where her son was.

"I think so," Irene said, nodding thoughtfully. Immediately, Molly looked around and saw a payphone. After fumbling with change, she dialed the number.

"Hello, Jack? Where are you?"

-X-

Molly pushed open the door to the roof where Jack said he was to find her sister-in-law, son, and daughter, all standing there.

"Jack, what happened?" she asked, and Fi pulled away from her brother to embrace her mother.

"Mommy…I saw Daddy," she whispered, feeling her mother reluctantly returning her embrace.

"You what?" Molly asked, holding her daughter.

"I saw Daddy," Fi answered.

-X-

Fi lay in her room, watching the night go by as the bus sped back to Hope Springs. She'd been so close to finally talking to her father, but he'd been taken away from her…again. Bricriu had been right; those spirits had been involved in her father's death, but she knew that they had almost gotten her as well.

Her father had been onto something, and she was afraid of what he'd found. If it had cost him his life, maybe it wasn't worth it.

She couldn't let it rest, though; they had taken her father from her, and she needed to know why. If it took the rest of her life, she'd find out.

-X-

Molly sat awake on a bench in the front of the bus, thinking about what Fi had said to her. She had seen Rick…so had Rick been the one to pull her up? She tried to recall her vision, and she knew that she had felt a wave of relief and seen Fiona being pulled to safety, and it was entirely possible that Rick had saved her.

Then again, with all of the weird things that had been happening, plus what she knew about the things Rick used to investigate, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. The last two years had been…interesting, to say the least, and she'd seen some things that defied reality. She had been so worried when Fi had first started investigating paranormal things, and now that she was having visions again, it almost felt like she was in danger of losing her daughter as well. She let out a sigh and picked up her cell phone, dialing a number. She heard a few tones, and then the other end picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Ma. I think we need to talk," Molly said.

END


	2. S3, E1: Radio Silence

**Season 3, Episode 1: ****"Radio Silence"**

_You know, if you think about it, humans thrive on communication. I mean, how long could we really go without e-mailing, talking on the phone…even talking in person? Can you even remember a day where you _haven't_ talked to someone? It seems like we talk to each other an awful lot, but what would happen if our lines of communication went dead, so to speak? If you're communicating with someone over a walkie-talkie and the line goes dead, they call it "radio silence." But what if radio silence became real silence?_

Fi watched the "YOU ARE NOW LEAVING PENNSYLVANIA" sign roll past her through the window and let out a sigh. The encounter with the wraiths and her father in New York had caused a minor obsession, and she had refused to talk to any of her family members because of it. Although she knew that they were only trying to help, they hadn't been the ones her father had appeared to. All the signs, everything that had happened, they had all led to that rooftop, and now her father had been taken from her again. She'd been scanning her inbox for any sign of an Unknown sender, but there had only been e-mails from people like Gabe and Tad who had heard what happened and wanted to talk to her. Of course, she hadn't responded to any of them, but she'd heard that Jack had e-mailed Gabe to let her know Fi was okay, just shaken.

Turning away from the window, she rolled over on her bed until she was facing the opposite wall. The door to her room opened and Molly stood there, looking in.

"Fi?" she said, waiting for her daughter's response. When Fi didn't say anything, Molly let out a soft sigh.

"Fiona, I just wanted to say good night. We're stopping in Cleveland tomorrow to fuel up, and then after that, we're going to try and go straight for home. Just thought I'd let you know," she said, smiling and closing the door.

When her mother was gone, Fi rolled over onto her back. New York seemed so far away, but going home didn't seem like it would make anything better. There were so many memories of her father there, and the thought of losing him when he'd been right in front of her was almost too much to bear.

Then again, what use was moping around? Although she'd been impacted by what had happened to her, it wasn't worth shutting the people closest to her out. If anything, she needed all of their support more now, but the last two days of giving them the silent treatment had made things more difficult to her. If she was going to make things better, she would need to sit down and talk with them; let them know how she was feeling and see if there was any way they could help. For now, though, she'd have to hope that sleep would make her feel better.

She sighed again and closed her eyes, surprised to feel drowsiness come almost immediately. With a yawn, she turned onto her side and drifted off to sleep.

-X-

As Fi fell asleep, a faint light flitted outside her window, moving at the same speed as the bus. It went through the window and hovered over the sleeping girl. As it did, a soft, shimmering dust fell from the light and onto Fi; it vanished as soon as it touched her. The light went through the window again and vanished, leaving as quietly as it had appeared.

-X-

Fi's eyes fluttered open as she woke up, feeling the bus moving. She gave a sleepy smile when she realized that she wasn't feeling as bad as she had been, probably due to what she'd thought about before going to sleep. When she looked at her alarm clock, she realized that everyone would probably still be sleeping, as they didn't have anything to do today.

Rolling out of bed, she walked over to her laptop and turned it on, immediately going to her website to see if she had mail. She frowned when she didn't find any, and no one had updated anything on the forum, either, so she figured she would see if there was anything to eat.

Slowly, she opened her door and looked to the front of the bus; Irene was driving, which meant that Ned was probably asleep. Her suspicions had been right; no one besides Irene was up.

A search through the cabinets proved fruitless, and she realized that she'd probably have to wait until they got to Cleveland to eat. Thankfully, she wasn't that hungry, so she settled on going back into her room for the book she'd been meaning to read. When she had it, she settled into a seat and started reading.

-X-

Fi just finished the chapter she'd been reading and heard a door open behind her; when she turned around, she saw her mother coming out of her room. With a smile, Fi got up.

Her smile vanished when she realized that no sound came out when she tried to talk. Fear started to creep into her veins when the same thing happened on her second attempt, and she could see the same fear on her mother's face when Molly tried to talk as well.

Hurriedly, Fi looked around and started rooting through the drawers near the sink, trying to find something; when she closed the drawer, she had a pen in her hand. She ran past her mom into her room and grabbed a sheet of paper sitting by her laptop, then showed it to her mother.

_Mom! I can't talk!_ she wrote, holding the paper up when she was done. Molly looked at the paper, then squinted at it. Fi frowned and turned the paper around, shocked when there was nothing on it. She set it down and started to write again but this time, the pen stopped working. She rifled through the drawer to get another pen, but every one she found didn't work.

When she looked up at her mom, she knew what she would have said had she been able to talk: "_Fi, what's going on here?_"

-X-

Fi leaned back against the wall behind her bed, frustrated. Her laptop was working, but when she tried to type something, the keys wouldn't work. First every pen on the bus stops working, then her laptop won't type? Although she didn't know exactly what was going on, it was all too weird to be random coincidences. Something weird was going on.

She looked up when someone came in her room; Jack stood there, and Fi gave him an angry look. He turned to the door and knocked on it, but no sound came out. It was like the door wasn't there.

A few moments of awkward silence passed before Jack left the room, apparently disturbed by something. She tried to wave to him, but something else was wrong. Although she knew how to make the motion she wanted, it was like she _couldn't_. She lifted her arm, which seemed odd, as she hadn't been able to wave at Jack.

Suddenly, a thought occurred.

She could move her arm when Jack wasn't in the room, but when she'd tried to get his attention, she hadn't been able to. Could it be that whatever made it so they couldn't talk made it so that they couldn't _communicate_? It was entirely possible, but what had that kind of power?

She got up from her bed and walked into the space in the front of the bus, seeing Ned poring over a map. He seemed to be confused, and he kept turning the map around on the table. Fi stopped by the table, wondering how hard it could have been to read the map.

When she caught sight of what was on the paper, she froze. She realized that she couldn't read any of the numbers or words on the map. She knew how to read, but the symbols on the map seemed strange and incomprehensible.

She gave a lurch as the bus skidded to a stop, startling everybody. Fi could hear the sound of the tires scraping across the road, but nothing inside the bus made a noise as the bus stopped. Everyone got up, shaken, and Fi ran to the front of the bus; Irene was there, but she was staring at something.

Fi looked out the front window of the bus to see that there was a road sign, except…it was empty. No words occupied the green sign, so apparently, whatever was affecting them was starting to affect the outside world.

-X-

Fi sat in the nonmoving bus with everyone who, understandably, was as frustrated as she was. Every time she wanted to get someone's attention, she couldn't. She'd tried to consult the book of Celtic magic her aunt had given her, but the words didn't make any sense. No one in the bus could communicate with anyone else, and Fi noticed that, although everyone should have looked extremely depressed or at least extremely confused, they all had neutral expressions on their faces.

Then, she had another thought: what if they didn't have expressions on their faces because facial expressions were a form of communication? It would make sense, although now, it seemed like whatever was causing all of this seemed more malevolent. Could it have been Bricriu, or another dark spirit? Without the ability to communicate, she felt helpless in the face of what was going on. How did you fight something that had this kind of power?

-X-

Although everyone looked normal, Fi could tell that everyone was…getting more depressed? Losing hope? It was hard to tell, but the shift in everybody's emotions wasn't a good one. The day had, surprisingly, passed without incident as they sat, stranded on the side of the road. Strangely, no cars had gone past which was starting to make her think. Rather than mope, she needed to figure out how to put everything right. She got up from the bench she was sitting on and walked over to Molly, who was looking out the window. Fi put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, but the fear she had felt when all of this first started happening came back when she felt…nothing. It was like her mother wasn't even there. She drew her hand back and turned around, rushing to get out of the bus before she went insane. She couldn't even feel her own mother who had been right in front of her, but apparently, a touch on the shoulder qualified as communication. Although she was starting to understand the rules of this sick game, it didn't make things any easier.

When she stepped outside, she saw that the sun was almost done sinking behind the horizon, and she did a quick survey of her surroundings. The road stretched out in front of her as far as she could see, and a forest surrounded the road on either side. Maybe whatever was doing this was out there, in the trees; at least, she _hoped_ it was. If it wasn't…well, she didn't want to think of what would happen if it wasn't.

Suddenly she heard something from the trees to her right. She turned to look at the source of the sound, and then froze.

"Fi!" A voice was calling her, but it was her own voice. She squinted when she thought she saw a flickering light.

"Fi!" the voice called again and, without hesitation, she ran after it.

-X-

Fi's voice continued to call to her as she ran after the flickering light, which was heading deep into the woods. Although she should have been more careful about it, the loss of her voice and hearing it again was overriding her caution.

As she passed tree after tree, she followed the light in the distance, hearing it calling her name and occasionally giggling. Although she was desperate to find out what was going on, the fact that whatever the light was had decided to use her own voice to lure her made her angry.

After chasing the light for what seemed to be forever, she stopped when she saw it hovering in the middle of a clearing. She stepped carefully over to it, making sure she didn't startle it; she didn't want to chase it anymore.

"Fi…" it said, and she walked over until it was a few feet away. Although it looked similar to Bricriu, she was sure that the Will o' the Wisp didn't have the ability to steal voices.

"Hello, Fiona," it said, expanding itself until it was a large mass of glowing energy. The light faded, and a shape took form until it became solid, and a mirror image of Fi stood there.

"Nice to finally meet you." The other Fi smiled.

-X-

Fi was in shock, although she couldn't express it at all.

"Oh, I figured that I'd take a shape you were comfortable with," other Fi said, studying her "double."

"I'd imagine that you want to know what's going on. Well, I found you after I picked up on some immense energy coming from you. You seemed so sad, and I decided to make things better for you. You didn't have to talk to anyone about what happened; that's what you wanted, isn't it?" Fi was getting frustrated again. This other Fi presumed so much, and it was through these presumptions that the spell that made it unable for anyone on the bus to communicate had been cast.

Staying in the clearing was pointless. She couldn't let the other Fi know that it wasn't what she wanted, that she wanted the spell undone, or even let her mother know how she was feeling. Since she couldn't tell other Fi to undo the spell and the other Fi assumed that she'd wanted things this way, she might as well not have bothered chasing the light at all, only to have been taunted by an image of herself.

She turned around and started to walk away.

"Fi, wait," other Fi said, and she stopped. Turning around, she faced other Fi with a blank expression.

"Are you…sad that I did this?" Other Fi looked confused.

"But…you didn't want to talk to anybody after you saw your father. I gave you what you wanted. Aren't people usually happy when they get what they want?" Other Fi sounded even more confused. Fi turned to walk away again, but something other Fi said stopped her.

"…unless it wasn't what you really wanted." Fi turned around again.

"If you're sad about this, then it would make sense. Oh, Fi…I'm so sorry…If I'd have known…" Other Fi walked towards her and made a motion; glowing dust showered Fi.

"Everything's going to be the way it was, but I'm going to offer some advice before I go: be careful what you wish for, Fiona Phillips. You have a bigger impact on the spirit world than you think." With that, other Fi started to glow and the light shrank back to its original size. It zoomed off into the night and when Fi couldn't see it anymore, she tried to talk, but with no luck. Had the other Fi lied to her?

-X-

The walk back to the bus through the forest seemed to take longer than it actually did, but she finally reached it, still stranded on the side of the road. With a heavy heart, she reached for the door handle and opened it, feeling a strange sensation all over. She stopped for a second, then walked up the small staircase and saw everyone still in the main room, looking despondent.

"Everything's going to be okay," she said, breaking the day-old silence that had weighed so heavily on all of them. Molly got up.

"Baby?" she said, walking over to Fi.

"Mom," was all she had time to say before her mother rushed over and wrapped her in an embrace.

"Hey, does that mean we can talk again?" Carey said, and she could hear Jack answer him.

"Hey, I can read again!" Ned exulted.

-X-

As the bus moved toward Cleveland, Molly sat in Fi's room, holding her daughter in her arms.

"I'm so sorry, mom. I meant to tell you, but…" Fi said, but was interrupted.

"Baby, you shouldn't be sorry. Did you really see your father?" Molly asked, and Fi nodded. Molly sighed.

"What…did he say?"

"He said that he was protecting me. That there are dark spirits that…want to hurt me." Fi nestled further into her mother's arms.

"You mean that…he's been watching over you?" A hint of hope crept into Molly's voice.

"He's watching over all of us," Fi said, and tears began to slide down Molly's cheeks.

"Maybe he tried to warn me," she whispered, and Fi sat up.

"What?" Molly wiped the tears away.

"When you and Rachel left, I had…well, I had a feeling that something terrible was going to happen and…well, I saw you. In trouble," Molly said.

"You _saw_ me?" Fi asked, confused. Molly nodded.

"It was almost exactly like the night your father died. I felt that something was wrong and then…I saw it. This time was different, though. I saw you in trouble, and then…everything was okay." Fi stopped to process everything her mother was saying.

"Dad saved me," Fi said simply, and her mother looked slightly stunned.

"Mom, if you saw what happened before it happened…" Molly cut her daughter off.

"Baby, that doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're safe," she said, embracing her daughter before getting off the bed.

"Now, try to get some sleep, okay? We'll be in Cleveland tomorrow," she said, smiling as best she could. Fi did the same, then moved around on the bed until she was under the covers.

"Hey, Fi? Before you go to sleep…could I use your laptop?" she asked.

"Um…yeah," Fi replied, and Molly picked it up before leaving the room and turning off the light behind her.

When her mom was gone, Fi drifted restlessly off to sleep, still thinking about what her mother had said to her.

-X-

When everyone on the bus was asleep, Molly opened Fi's laptop. Although she never really used computers, it wasn't hard to find the search engine Fi had bookmarked. Her fingers paused over the keys as she prepared to type, and when she finally stopped, she looked at the word before pressing search.

PREMONITIONS


	3. S3, E2: Seer updated

**Season 3, Episode 2: ****"Seer"**

_Throughout history, there have been people called "seers;" people who have the extraordinary power of foresight. They advised armies, even kings, but there have always been rumors that there are seers who can see other things…like spirits. More often than not, these people are regarded as crazy, but after seeing all the weird stuff I've seen, it's entirely possible that there are people who can see the spirit world like I do and maybe, they can even see things I can't._

"Sweet! Nachos!" Carey exuded, snatching up a black plastic tray laden with tortilla chips. From the back of the store, Fi shook her head and laughed. It seemed like every guy she knew loved convenience store nachos, but she was more concerned with choosing between grape or cherry taffy. Biting her lip, she reluctantly picked up the purple package and walked up to the counter with it and a bottle of soda in her hands. She gave her mother a sheepish smile when she set the items down on the counter, and Molly just let out a chuckle.

"Wait! I want grape soda," Fi said, snatching the bottle of lemon lime from the counter and running to the back of the store.

"Well, hurry up, Fi!" Molly called after her. Quickly, she exchanged the green bottle for a purple one and started to run back to the front, but stopped when she realized that a woman was looking at her intently.

"You can see them too, can't you?" the woman said, idly setting a bag of chips down on a rack.

"Excuse me?" Fi asked warily.

"No…you…you've been touched by them, haven't you?" The woman took a few steps toward the end of the aisle, and Fi involuntarily took a few steps back. Not wanting to talk to the stranger anymore, she hurried to the front of the store and set her soda on the counter.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Molly asked, digging through her purse for her wallet. Fi glanced toward the back of the store where the woman stood, still watching her.

"Nothing," she said finally, turning to the attendant. When their purchases were paid for, they all left the gas station and gathered around the car.

"Okay, guys. Let's go. This is my first day off of recording in a while and I want to make the most of it!" Molly announced, unlocking the car.

"Yeah, but do you have to make US make the most of it?" Jack moaned, and Fi laughed. She stopped when she felt someone standing behind her and when she turned around; the woman from inside the store was there.

"I can see that you've been touched by evil…but you've also been touched by good. He's watching over you." Fi almost let her soda slip out of her hand. It seemed like every cryptic remark this woman was making had something to do with her father, and maybe even what had happened in New York.

"How…how did you know that?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"You can see them too." The woman dug into her pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and held it out to Fi. Fi paused for a moment, wondering what could be on the paper, but was interrupted.

"Hey, kiddo! What's the hold up? Who's this?" Molly asked, sounding more serious when she asked the second question. Fi let out a small sigh and took the paper.

"Nothing, mom," she said, tucking the paper into her pocket and opening the car door. As they drove away, she could still see the woman standing there and watching them as they left.

"Hey, Fi, what did that woman want?" Jack asked, tearing open the package of chips he'd gotten from the store.

"I don't know," she replied, looking out the window.

-X-

Fi looked blankly at a mannequin dressed up in "one of the hottest summer fashions," according to the sign behind the window, but she didn't really care about that. The woman at the gas station had mentioned that she knew Fi's father was protecting Fi, but how could she have known that?

Sighing, she took the piece of paper out of her pocket and opened it.

_If you can see them too and really believe,_

_e-mail me._

_.net_

She frowned as she stumbled across the cryptic "them" remark. If "them" referred to spirits, did that mean this woman was a medium? She remembered the medium she'd encountered before, the one who'd allowed her to talk to her father. It had been an emotional experience, especially when she played a song she'd never heard before, so it was entirely possible that the woman could be talking about spirits.

Painfully, she recalled the warning she'd received on the rooftop. "YOU'RE NEXT." The woman had mentioned something about being "touched by evil;" was it possible that she meant having actually been _touched_ by evil?

Suddenly, she felt a hand come down on her shoulder. She jumped and turned around, but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Molly.

"That's a pretty nice dress, but I think you'd look better in green," she said, smiling warmly at her daughter.

"Do you want to get a pretzel?" This question made Fi genuinely smile.

"You know I can never turn down bread that's been twisted into a knot." Molly laughed again at her daughter's remark.

"Wait a second. You've got that look on your face," she said, furrowing her brow slightly.

"What look?" Fi asked, confused.

"The one that tells me you've been thinking about your father." Fi's smile vanished and she cast her gaze downward.

"Well, do you think that you can multitask? Everyone's waiting for us at the food court." Molly reassuringly put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. Fi gave a small smile and nodded.

-X-

"Welcome to Forget Me Knot. Can I take your order?" The bored-looking teenager behind the counter poised his hand over the register, waiting to punch their order in.

"Can I just get a regular knot, no salt?" Molly asked. The cashier nodded and Fi stepped up to the counter.

"Can I get…" she started, but trailed off when something caught her eye. A dark shadow slid across the shiny silver base of the lemonade machine to the cashier's right, and she got a chill; the same chill she'd felt on the rooftop. She jumped when something crashed onto the floor next to her, and she quickly turned to see her mother frantically scrambling to pick things up.

"Shoot! The straps on my bags broke!" Molly let out a frustrated sigh, but Fi breathed one of relief, despite the fact that traces of the chill she'd felt still lingered. She almost turned back to order but stopped when she noticed that a piece of paper was leaning against her shoe. When she picked it up and read it, her heart stopped for a moment. It was a coupon from a store called "Watch Out." Although she figured it must have been a coincidence, it might not have been, since her mother's bags broke seconds after she saw the shadow.

"Nothing for me, thanks," she said, giving the cashier a weak smile. Molly gave her an odd look, but paid for her pretzel like normal.

-X-

The rest of the day at the mall passed without incident, and before Fi knew it, the Phillips' and Bells were sitting around the dinner table, eating Mexican food. Although she didn't feel much like eating, she still came to dinner as she'd never missed Mexican Night before.

"Okay, everyone, I have some major news," Molly said after tapping her glass with her fork. Everyone stopped talking and turned to her.

"Well, the record company and I have been talking. The album's all finished, but…they want me to go back on tour." Everyone at the table save for Molly became abuzz with excitement.

"They want you to go back on tour? That's great!" Jack said.

"Yeah, Molly! You should definitely do it." Carey was beaming at her from across the table.

"Well, it would be a good way to promote the new album, but…I told them I'd think about it." Molly's statement seemed to shock everyone.

"Why not? I mean, it's only been, what, five, six months since you were last on tour?" Irene asked, frowning as she took a drink of water.

"Well, you know, we were on tour for almost two years and now that we've come back home…plus, I don't think I'd be better than the Rolling Stones, going back on tour after saying I wasn't." Molly chuckled.

"You know, it'd be great if you went back on tour because we have so much fun on the road, but I'll be happy with whatever decision you make," Ned said, taking a bite out of a taco and spilling seasoned beef onto his plate.

"You know what? I might have made a mistake, dropping a bomb like this on everyone. How about we talk about this tomorrow?" Molly suggested.

"Actually, I think you really only need to discuss it with Jack and Fi. The Bells are behind you no matter what," Ned interjected, and Irene and Carey nodded.

"I think that would be great," Molly said, breathing a sigh of relief.

-X-

After dinner, Fi cloistered herself in her room. Although she wanted to go to sleep, something was keeping her awake. She picked up the coupon from the mall off of her nightstand and looked at it; the words "Watch Out" in big, red letters seemed ominous, almost like a warning. Had the shadow she'd seen at the mall been the same dark spirits she'd encountered in New York? It certainly seemed that way, but she'd been warned; but by who; or, rather, _what_? Although she'd never felt her father protecting her, he'd always left signs like e-mails, so could he have been the one to warn her? Then again, the dark spirits had warned her on the rooftop…

Sighing, she set the coupon back on her nightstand, but paused when she noticed something about her ring. When she looked closely, it almost seemed like it was glowing with a faint aura. For some reason, that didn't scare her, but she made a mental note to investigate it.

She was about to go to bed when something kept bugging her: the piece of paper the woman, Evelyn, had given her. Getting out of bed, she grabbed her jeans from the laundry hamper and plucked the piece of paper out of the pocket. She threw her jeans back into the hamper and stared at the writing, biting her lip as she debated with herself; finally she made a decision and sat down at her desk. She flipped her laptop open and clicked the icon that would allow her to compose an e-mail.

_Evelyn –_

_I know you probably don't know me, but I was the girl you gave your e-mail address to at the gas station. I'm curious about what you said to me when we met, so if you could please respond to this e-mail as soon as you can, I'd really appreciate it. I'd like to find out more._

_- Fiona_

She clicked "SEND" and watched as the message sent; sighing, she got up and walked over to the bed, turning the covers down so she could get in. She turned around when she heard the noise for a new e-mail, and she clicked the message open.

_Fiona –_

_I'm very glad you e-mailed me. I could tell that you had a gift and I figured that e-mail would be the best way for us to communicate; however, there are things you need to know._

_- Evelyn_

As soon as she finished reading the message, she started to work on a reply.

_Evelyn –_

_Things I need to know? What kind of things? Am I in danger?_

_- Fi_

Anxiously, she waited for the reply and opened it when it arrived.

_Fiona –_

_I don't know that these are the kind of things that should be discussed online. I don't blame you if you don't trust me, but if you truly believe, I'd like to talk to you in person._

_- Evelyn_

She was surprised; this woman could be a crazy person or some sort of evil entity, and yet, here she was, actually considering meeting this woman she'd only briefly met, if that. Her common sense was screaming "DON'T GO!" but something else was thinking that it might be best to talk to Evelyn. It seemed like what the woman had to tell her was important, so could she risk not finding out? Taking a deep breath, she typed her reply.

_Evelyn –_

_I'd like to meet you, but I'm not too sure I trust you. I'm sorry, but this is all a little sudden._

_- Fi_

The reply came minutes after she sent hers.

_Fiona –_

_I understand completely; however, if you are even considering meeting me in person, I can give you my word that I won't harm you in any way. I don't know if a stranger's word means anything to you, but I hope you'll at least reconsider._

_- Evelyn_

For some reason, the woman's reply seemed honest. It was a mystery how she could know that, but it seemed like it would be in her best interest to reconsider.

_Evelyn –_

_Okay, I've reconsidered and I'd like to meet you._

_- Fi_

A ding announced the arrival of the reply.

_Fiona –_

_I'm glad you changed your mind. My address is 101 Everett Drive. You can find it by heading north on the main road until you get to Everett. See you soon._

_- Evelyn_

She made it a point to memorize the address, writing it down on the same piece of paper the e-mail address was on.

"What have I gotten myself into?" she mused aloud as she turned off the lights, getting into bed and sinking into unconsciousness.

-X-

Fi gave a groan as she rolled over in bed to look at her alarm clock; when she saw what time it was, her eyes shot open and she jumped out of bed.

"Eleven o' clock? How come nobody woke me up!?" she said, throwing her door open and rushing out of her room. Her footsteps were loud as she thundered down the stairs, and she stopped when she got into the kitchen; however, when she looked around, no one was there.

"Mom? Jack?" she called, looking around. Now that she wasn't in such a hurry, she noticed the silence that seemed to dominate the kitchen. She checked the refrigerator for a note of some kind, and she started to worry when she didn't find anything. Suddenly, there was a loud _crack_ and she turned around to see the wall behind her splitting apart. Before her eyes, pieces of the wall fell backwards into oblivion, sucked in by some strange force. As more and more of the wall crumbled, she ran out of the kitchen, looking over her shoulder the entire time. The cracking got louder and she could see that the rest of the house was collapsing into the void, and it was all she could do to get to the stairs before the void swallowed her too. Just as she was halfway up the stairs, her hands shot out to grab the banister as the stair she was on gave out underneath her weight. She gave a small scream as the force that was pulling the rest of the house into the void grabbed her, and she tried to tighten her grip. After fighting the force for a minute or so, her fingers slipped and she flew backward into the darkness, screaming.

-X-

The sound of her own screams woke Fi and, as she slowly began to register that she'd been dreaming, she realized that she'd been screaming in real life as well. Light flooded into her room from the hallway as Molly and Jack flung the door open, but she caught notice of movement in the shadows by her window. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn she saw the same kind of shadow she'd seen at the mall.

"Baby, what's the matter? I heard you screaming," Molly said, rushing over to the bed. Jack stood in the doorway. Fi caught her breath before answering.

"I was just…having a bad dream," she said, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. Molly wrapped her arms around Fi in an effort to comfort her, and Fi placed a hand on her mother's arm.

-X-

The next morning, Jack found Fi at the breakfast table, using her spoon to toy with colorful pieces of cereal. She was staring into her bowl, but it seemed like she was staring _through_ it.

"You never did like soggy cereal," he said, causing her to look up at him. She gave a weak chuckle.

"I guess I don't feel like eating much lately," she replied, pushing her bowl away from her.

"Hey, ever since you met that woman at the gas station, you've been acting more weird than usual, and that's saying something considering you're usually pretty weird." He grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and a spoon from the door, setting them down on the table when he sat down.

"It's, uh…it's nothing." She tried to avoid meeting his gaze. As he grabbed the cereal from the center of the table, he started to feel concern.

"Did she threaten you?" he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"What? No. She…wanted to talk to me."

"Wanted to talk to you? I don't think she even knows you." The cereal made small tinkling sounds as they hit the inside of the bowl.

"Hey, half the people who want to talk to me don't know me." She chuckled.

"Well, that's true, but if she didn't threaten you, what did she want?"

"You know, I don't think you'd believe me if I told you." Her slight smile faded.

"Try me." He picked up the milk and poured it over his cereal.

"Actually, I think I can take care of this by myself. Tell mom that I'll be back later," she said, getting up from the table.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go ride my bike around. Tell mom I'll be back later." With that, she went upstairs and into her room.

-X-

As Fi pedaled her bike, she kept what she'd read in her e-mail in her mind. The road that led north was uphill, but she had no idea how long it was going to take her to get there; it had been almost been fifteen minutes since she'd left her house and she hadn't seen any other roads. Determined, she started to pedal faster.

Another ten minutes passed and she found a road that branched off from the main one, and a signpost indicated that she'd arrived at Everett Drive. She got off her bike and took a deep breath before walking her bike down the road. The forest seemed strangely tranquil, although she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong; like…something was watching her. After everything that had happened yesterday and last night, she wasn't so sure that she was just being paranoid.

The path went on for ten minutes without any houses but finally, she found 1 Everett Drive. Although it looked like a lot of houses around the mountainous region of Hope Springs, it had a weird aura about it. Warily, she laid her bike down on the lawn and approached the house, chancing a glance at her ring. When she looked closely, it was still glowing faintly, and she took another deep breath to calm herself. She knocked on the door, doing her best not to turn and walk away; she was getting the feeling that she shouldn't be there. Her thoughts were brushed aside when Evelyn opened the door.

"You decided to come. Come in," she said, opening the door wider so Fi could step in.

The house seemed normal enough; nothing out of the ordinary caught Fi's eye, aside from the occasional interesting knickknack.

"Let's talk in the living room," the woman said, gesturing to her right as she turned around. Fi nodded and turned into the tastefully decorated living room, taking a seat.

"So, why did you want me to come here?" she asked, looking at the woman, who took a seat on a chair across from her.

"Well, I was wondering if you believed, but you did come here."

"Believed in what?" Fi was starting to feel frustrated with all of the cryptic remarks this woman was making to her.

"Spirits. Ghosts. Apparitions. Call them what you will." The woman's reply surprised Fi.

"So do you mean that you were talking about spirits when you said that I'd been touched by them?"

"Yes."

"Wait, back at the gas station, you asked me if I could see them too. Does that mean you can?" The woman nodded.

"I'm what some would call a 'seer.'"

"Wait; I remember reading something about seers when I investigated future telling. According to what I found, seers see the future." Fi was slightly confused.

"Well, yes, historically, the most talked about seers could see the future. In Hebrew, the word for seer translates to 'one who sees.' That could mean anything outside of normal perception."

"Okay, so what, you can see spirits?"

"Yes. I can also see when people have been touched by them."

"Do you mean actually touched?"

"In a way. 'Touched' is my term for coming into contact with a spirit. A lot of people have been touched without even knowing it because they can't see, but you…I don't think I even needed to look for you. You emanate the aura of someone who has been touched many times."

"Well, I do have the habit of finding weird stuff."

"It's not just that. You're protected." Fi looked away for a moment and nodded.

"My father watches over me."

"It's rare that anyone who's been touched has a protector, but…"

"But what?"

"But…you've also been marked."

"Marked?"

"Yes. Marked with…" The woman trailed off and looked around.

"Marked with what?" Suddenly, Fi got the feeling that something was wrong. The woman stood up.

"You need to go," the woman said anxiously.

"Wait! I need to know what I've been marked with." Fi stood up as well, angry that the woman was ordering her to leave without telling her more.

"Get out now!" the woman yelled, and Fi's anger was replaced with fear. Rather than a command, the woman's words sounded urgent.

"Go!" With that, Fi turned around and hurried out of the house, feeling the chill again which could only mean one thing: danger. She ran across the lawn and scooped up her bike, fluidly jumping on it and pedaling away. As soon as she turned onto the main road, she looked up briefly to see a dark shadow flitting through the treetops. Before she could register what was going on, she heard a series of loud cracks and saw something huge crash onto the road in front of her. Her bike stopped, but she didn't; she flew over her handlebars and hit whatever it was that had fallen onto the road. She bounced off and went unconscious as soon as she hit the ground.

-X-

_Fi._

_Fi!_

_FI!_

Fi's eyes fluttered open at the sound of an internal voice; an instinct that told her to wake up or else she might not wake up again. She gave a groan, feeling pain all over her body. Slowly, she got unsteadily to her feet and tasted copper in her mouth; when she wiped it with the back of her hand, a red trail smeared across her skin.

"Oh no," she whispered, feeling her head with her hands; her heart almost stopped when she found a warm, sticky spot on her forehead. The sight of her own blood almost made her woozy, and she looked down to survey the rest of her body. Her clothes were dirty and there was some blood staining the left shoulder of her jacket, but everything else seemed fine aside from the dull pain that was everywhere. When she looked down the road, what she saw horrified her.

A large tree had fallen onto the road and crushed the front tire of her bike, leaving the metal trapped under its massive weight. If she had been going even a little faster, she would have been crushed under the tree. Shaking, she climbed over the tree and started to make her way home.

-X-

Molly looked up from making lunch as Fi walked into the kitchen.

"Hey! Jack told me you went…" She stopped mid-sentence when she saw that her daughter looked shaken and battered.

"Oh my god, Fi! What happened to you!?" The blood on her daughter's forehead alarmed her, and she ran over to the sink to wet some paper towels.

"Here, sit down at the table," she said, and Fi numbly did as she was asked. Without wasting any time, Molly began to wipe the blood off Fi.

"What happened to you?" she asked again, trying to be gentle.

"I was riding my bike and a tree fell into the road. I crashed into it." Fi sounded less like herself and more like a zombie; her words were monotone and seemed forced. Molly kept glancing at her daughter, but cleaned up most of the blood. She threw the paper towels away and rushed to the hall closet, where she grabbed the red first aid kit and brought it back into the kitchen. Taking a disinfecting pad, she wiped Fi's wound with it and then opened a bandage. Gently, she applied it to Fi's forehead.

"Honey?" she said, and Fi suddenly broke down in tears. Shocked, Molly automatically reached out and put a hand on her daughter's head, resting it against her shoulder. It was all she could do to keep from crying herself.

-X-

Molly sighed as she took a seat on the couch in the living room, hearing Fi close her bedroom door. She understood that crashing into a fallen tree was a scary experience, especially when you saw it fall, but…

"Hey. Where's Fi?" Jack question interrupted her thoughts. She turned her head to look at him as he sat down in a chair.

"Oh, she's up in her room, but I wouldn't bother her. She's kinda shaken up," she replied, adjusting her position on the couch.

"Shaken up? Why?" He looked concerned.

"Well apparently, while she was out riding her bike, a tree fell onto the road and she crashed into it." Jack sat up, extremely worried.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

"All she got was a cut on her forehead. I don't think she had any scrapes, but I bandaged her up. I'm more worried about how she acted when she came home."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, having a huge tree fall in front of you can be pretty scary, but she seemed…"

"Seemed like what?"

"Like she had been scared really badly."

"Well, like you said, she was probably really scared by the tree. I know I'd be really scared if something like that happened to me."

"Yeah, you're probably right," she said, nodding. Jack smiled at her and got up to get something from the kitchen, but she couldn't help but think that Jack was wrong.

-X-

Fi lay on her bed, clutching her favorite stuffed animal to her like it would vanish if she didn't. All she'd been doing since she'd gotten home was think about the accident and how, even though it was extremely possible that it was an accident, she knew it wasn't. She'd seen the shadow before she crashed and now it was very clear: the shadow was after her. Maybe that's what the seer had meant when she said Fi was "marked;" maybe the shadow had marked her because…

She almost didn't want to finish that thought, but she did anyway. Maybe the shadow had marked her because it wanted to kill her, but why hadn't it killed her with the tree? While the attack definitely seemed planned, she doubted that an evil spirit would miss if it didn't want to. She needed to figure out why the shadow had targeted her.

Suddenly, her laptop announced that she had one new message, and she got up to see who had sent it. She paused when she saw who it was: Unknown. Her heart started pounding as she realized who the message might have been from. She opened it and read:

Everything happens for a reason.

"Everything happens for a reason," she repeated aloud. If that was true, then the message had been sent to her for a reason; what else could it mean except that the attack _had_ happened for a reason? Now all she needed to do was figure out what that reason was.

"Okay, so what happened? She was talking to me about being touched, then about being marked…Wait a second…" She stopped when she realized that the seer had been about to tell her what she'd been marked by, and that was when the trouble had started. So, the shadow had attacked her to prevent her from finding out what it was, but why would it do that? Was it afraid of her gaining power over it? She took a deep breath and let it out as she resolved to go back to the seer's house to find out exactly what was going on, even if it meant risking her life again.

-X-

Fi found herself walking around in her house, wondering where everyone was again. Her ring was glowing again, but a little more strongly this time. The light grew stronger and the silver band was wrenched off of her hand, leaving her cold all over. A black shadow began to leak out of an upper corner in my room and she turned and ran, as she'd done when the void had been swallowing the house. As before, she made it top the top stair when the shadow got her. This time, however, Molly was there, reaching for her hand. She tried to stretch far enough, but all she could do was touch fingertips with her mother before she was completely engulfed in blackness.

-X-

Fi shot up in bed again but this time, she was in tears. She felt a twinge in the bottom of her stomach as she watched the shadow go out the window again. Looking down, she still saw that she had her ring on and rubbed it with her thumb, feeling the engraving. The light was stronger, but it faded to the faint glow it'd had before.

-X-

Fi was still awake when the sun rose, and she waited until ten o'clock to get dressed. Making sure she had her ring, she went downstairs and passed Molly.

"Hey! You look like you're in a hurry," she said, stopping in front of her daughter.

"Mom, I have to go take care of something. I'll be back soon," she said, taking a couple of steps forward, but Molly stepped in front of her again.

"Fiona, where are you going?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Mom, please, let me go," she pleaded, and Molly let out a sigh, stepping aside. Fi rushed past her to the door.

-X-

The walk to Everett Drive took forty five minutes without her bike and, luckily for her, the tree was gone from the road. She practically sprinted the last few minutes of her trip and screeched to a halt when she reached the seer's front door. Rather than the woman opening it, though, it opened on its own, as if it had almost been ready to open before she got there. Tentatively, she set a foot inside the house.

"Hello?" she called, taking another step inside. She looked around when she heard a sound, and figured out that it was coming from upstairs, and she tensed as she ran up the flight. She stopped as soon as she was in the hallway, listening again for the sound. It came from a doorway ahead and to the left, and she ran towards the room, only to be floored by the horror that lay before her.

The seer lay on a king-size bed, bleeding on the sheets from a gash across her throat and, on the wall above the bed, the crimson fluid spelled out letters.

YOU WERE WARNED

Tears streaming down her face, she turned to leave, but something made her turn around. When she did, the dead seer and the blood were gone. She turned around again and flames sprang up in the doorway, blocking her exit. The room began to catch on fire, slowly trapping her in a corner next to the bed. The fire got closer and she curled up, shielding herself with her arms.

She didn't notice her ring glowing brightly, but she looked up when a voice came from nowhere.

"Run, Fiona!" The pseudo-whisper caused her to get to her feet and face the advancing flames, but she hesitated.

"Run!" said the voice again, and she braced herself before running straight through the fire. Surprisingly, she made it through unscathed and managed to get out of the house before it was completely consumed. She turned around when she heard a noise behind her only to see writing dug into the ground at her feet which was, strangely enough, her father's code.

"Everything has a reason," she said, knowing now why she'd almost been killed. She had gone back to see the seer, despite the fact that she'd almost been killed before and next time, she might not be so lucky. If this message wasn't clear enough, nothing was.

-X-

Fi walked into the house, finding Molly and Jack in the kitchen.

"Where were you?" Molly asked, looking annoyed.

"I was working things out. I'm sorry I've been so weird the last few days, but I promise, I'm better now," she said.

"Well, at least you're okay," Jack said, chuckling.

"Well, I'm glad you're home, because we need to talk." Molly set the glass of water she'd been holding down.

"Mom, I think it's a great idea for you to go back on your. Sure, living here would be nice, but I feel more at home on the road," Fi said, making Molly smile.

"Baby, are you sure?" she asked, walking over to Fi.

"I'm positive." Molly reached out and pulled her into a hug, and Fi gladly returned it.

"By the way, I'm going to be more careful from now on. I promise," she said, making her mom pause as she left the room.

"What did she mean by more careful?" Jack asked, and Molly just shrugged. Fi laughed as she went upstairs. Finally, things were going to get back to normal.

-X-

Back in her room, Fi was feeling the engraving on her ring again when her laptop made the noise that signaled a new e-mail. Curious, she got up to open it and saw that it was from Evelyn. She felt a sense of relief as she read the message:

_Fiona –_

_Please, get on Insta-Gab._

_- Evelyn_

Partially smiling, she clicked on the link for the chat room and saw Evelyn in there.

_Fi: You're alive!_

_Evelyn: Yes, I am. It was an illusion created by the spirit that marked you. I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you everything without risking your life._

_Fi: I know. I'm sorry, too._

_Evelyn: All I can tell you is that you're not marked anymore…for now. Just be careful._

_Fi: Thanks. I'll be sure to, although weird stuff occasionally finds me._

_Evelyn: You have an amazing gift, Fiona. If you ever need my help again, I'm just an e-mail away._

_Fi: Thanks again for everything._

_Evelyn: You're welcome. Like I said before, just remember to be careful._

_Fi: I will._

She exited the chat room and started to close her laptop, but saw her ring glowing brightly before fading out again. A smile crept onto her lips as she closed the computer.


	4. S3, E3: Witch

**Season 3, Episode 3: ****"Witch"**

**-SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT- If all of you So Weird fans are looking for a forum where you can discuss the show and everything about it, go to .com! –END SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT-**

_Everyone's heard of witches; people who can use magic and spells and stuff. It would be really cool to be a witch, but history's shown that people don't always like them. I mean, look at the Salem Witch Trials. That makes me think about my last trip to Seattle. My aunt gave me a real book of spells, and I learned that it belonged to my Grandma. It really makes me think; if it belonged to my Grandma, does that mean she's a witch? If so, could anyone else in my family be one too? If that's true, then maybe it runs in the family. Abracadabra._

As the bus rolled down the highway, Fi's gaze was fixed on her laptop screen, casting a blue glow in the dark.

"Man vanishes from home," she read aloud, clicking on the link. Apparently, a man had vanished from his house while asleep. Looking up, she quickly closed the article. Although it had been a major sacrifice, she'd pledged to stop looking for weird stuff; she had gotten in major trouble the last time she went looking. With a sigh, she shut her laptop and turned around to look out the window at the world going by.

Suddenly, there was a _thud_ behind her, and she whirled around in time to catch sight of the object that had fallen. She scooted to the edge of the bed and saw a newspaper, which seemed odd. Frowning, she picked it up and read the headline.

_Young boy goes missing_

A scan of the paper told her that she was reading the Cliffden Times, but she stopped when she read the first sentence in the front-page article.

_Tristan O' Sianhan, 6, went missing from his home when he wandered too far away. Authorities believe…_

O' Sianhan…could it be? Who would know for sure? Her great-grandmother probably would, but she had passed away. Maybe…

She scrambled off of her bed and opened her door, finding her mother at the table writing something down.

"Hey mom?" she said, and Molly turned around.

"Hey, kiddo!" she said, smiling.

"Mom, could I call Grandma Kathleen?" she asked, looking hopeful.

"Okay, but try not to eat up all of the long distance. It's coming out of your allowance," Molly replied, handing her the phone that was lying on the table in front of her.

"Thanks, mom," Fi said, beaming.

-X-

"Hello?"

"Grandma, it's Fi!"

"Oh, Fiona! It's so nice of you to call! We've missed you since you were here last."

"I miss you too! How's Grandpa doing?"

"Oh, fine. Grumpy as ever."

"Well, I called because I was wondering if you knew of any O' Sianhans living in Cliffden, Ireland."

"As a matter of fact, that's where your great-grandmother Fiona was from. I was born there. Why do you ask?"

"Do you happen to know of Tristan O' Sianhan?"

"Oh…now, let me think. I don't know for sure, but he might be related to Michael."

"Who's Michael?"

"Oh, my brother. Your great-uncle."

"Well, do you think he would know?"

"He might, but he passed away five years ago. He did have a son, though."

"Do you have his number?"

"Now Fiona, you're not planning on calling him, are you? Does your mother know?"

"I asked her, and she said it was coming out of my allowance."

"All right, love. Let me dig it up." The line went silent for a minute.

"Okay, his number is +353-14845622." Fi hurriedly scribbled it down.

"Thanks, Grandma."

"Oh, you're welcome, dear."

"Give my love to Grandpa!"

"I will! Goodbye."

"Bye."

She took a breath before punching in the number her grandmother had given her.

-X-

"Hello?"

"Hi, can I speak to Micahel O' Sianhan's son?"

"This is he. Who's calling?"

"Oh, my name is Fiona Phillips. I'm Kathleen McQuinn's granddaughter."

"Ah! I didn't know Kathleen had a granddaughter! How is she?"

"She's doing fine. I called because I wanted to know if you knew anything about a Tristan O' Sianhan that went missing."

"Tristan? Well, Tristan's my son, but he went missing when he was six."

"Really?"

"Indeed. We found him a month later, though. He's nineteen now and, as a matter of fact, he's going to school in Boston. Harvard."

"Oh, okay."

"Is there anything else I can answer for you?"

"No, thank you."

"It was a pleasure talking to you, Fiona. Tell your grandmother I said hello."

"I will. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Frowning again, she picked up the paper and scanned the front page again, catching sight of something she'd managed to miss before: the date. She was in disbelief; the newspaper was thirteen years old.

-X-

The next day, Fi was sitting in the main room of the bus, surfing the 'net for something interesting.

"Okay, everyone! We'll be in Boston in three hours," Molly announced, causing Fi to look up from the screen.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"I told you when we left that we were going to Boston. I'm a guest lecturer in a music theory class up at Harvard, then a concert downtown," Molly answered, giving her daughter a funny look.

"Oh, yeah, I must have forgot," Fi said, grinning sheepishly. Molly shook her head.

-X-

As the bus got closer to Boston, Fi noticed something: her ring had started to glow faintly, and the light had gotten stronger ever since. She looked out the window to see a sign that welcomed her to Boston, and she stared in surprise as the engraving on her ring shone brightly with a golden light. The light vanished, leaving her to wonder if something weird was going to happen in Boston.

-X-

"Okay, you guys don't have to stay here while I'm lecturing. Go walk around, see the campus," Molly said, smiling at Jack and Fi.

"Don't worry, mom. We'll be back at two thirty," Jack reassured her.

"Call me if something goes wrong!" Molly called after her children, and she could hear both Jack and Fi laughing.

"Hey, I wonder where the library is," Jack said.

"Are you serious? We're on vacation from school and you want to go to the library?" Fi quipped, and he looked hurt.

"Hey, I'll bet it's a cool library," he retorted, making her laugh. She looked down long enough to see her ring glowing again but this time, it felt like it was resonating. Looking around, she stopped when she saw someone looking at her. Although it might have been coincidental, the way he held her gaze told her otherwise. He stared at her for a few moments and then kept walking as if he hadn't seen anything. Narrowing her eyes, she turned her attention back to exploring the campus with her brother.

"Hey, I wonder if there's anywhere we can get something to eat," she said, walking alongside Jack.

-X-

"You know, this sandwich isn't half-bad," Jack remarked, taking a bite.

"They are pretty good. I like the fries better, though," Fi said, dipping some in ketchup.

"Excuse me," came a voice directly in front of her, and she looked up to see a man with jet black hair, striking jade eyes and a fair complexion standing there; she recognized him as the man she'd seen looking at her earlier.

"Are you Fiona Phillips?" the newcomer asked in a brogue, and she paused.

"Who are you?" she asked, wary.

"I'm Tristan. Tristan O' Sianhan. My father told me you called him," Tristan said.

"Oh, Tristan! Yeah, I called your dad because I found a newspaper article that said you went missing. Do you want to sit down?" she asked, relieved that she was talking to her cousin and not a stranger that just happened to know her name. He looked at his watch.

"Sure. I've got a few minutes until class," he said, sitting down.

"By the way, Jack, this is our cousin, Tristan. Tristan, this is my brother, Jack," Fi said, and Jack got up to extend his hand. Tristan shook it.

"Pleased to meet you," Tristan said with a smile.

"So how are we related to you?" Jack asked, curious.

"Your grandmother Kathleen is my great-aunt, which makes my grandfather your great-uncle," he replied, and Jack nodded.

"So what are you doing in Boston? My father said you spoke to him, but he didn't tell me that you would be here," he asked, sitting back in the chair.

"My mom's giving a guest lecture in one of the music classes here," she answered, causing Tristan to look extremely surprised.

"Wait, is your mother Molly Phillips?" Fi nodded.

"I knew I'd seen her name somewhere! They have flyers all over campus advertising the lecture and the concert tonight," he exuded, and he seemed happy that the connection had finally been made. Suddenly, he looked down at his wrist.

"_Mollaght!_ I have to get to class, but could you meet me at the library afterwards? I'd like to talk to you," he said, getting up hurriedly.

"Talk to me? About what?" she asked.

"There's a book that my grandfather owned; a Celtic book. Before he died, he told me that he gave it to his sister," he answered. She looked surprised.

"Where would you like me to meet you?" she inquired.

"Meet me on the second level of Widener Library by the Greek literature at one thirty," he said. She looked at her watch to see that it was noon. When she looked back up, he was gone.

"Are you really going to go meet him?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe. He knew about Aunt Melinda's book," she answered. When he looked at her in disbelief, she teased, "You should be happy. We're going to the library after all."

-X-

Fi and Jack were both in awe when they finally walked into the library; it was huge, sprawling, and held a certain atmosphere that was both antique and quiet.

"Hey, I'm going to look around," Jack said quietly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the library.

"Okay. I'll meet you back here at 2:45 so we can meet mom after her lecture," she whispered back, and he nodded.

"Okay, I need to find the second floor," she muttered to herself, looking around. Ahead was a large desk with an elderly woman behind it, and she smiled as she approached it.

"How can I help you?" the woman asked, looking up from scanning a book into the computer in front of her.

"I'm looking for the Greek literature section," Fi answered, and the librarian closed the book.

"Take the stairs over there until you get to the second floor, then take a right. You can't miss it," the woman said with a smile, pointing to where the stairs were.

"Thanks," Fi replied, smiling back. She almost bolted toward the stairs, but remembered that she was in a college library and slowed down to a walk. She did take the stairs two at a time, but she figured that a lot of students did that.

When she got to the top of the stairs and turned right, she saw a sign emblazoned with the words "GREEK LITERATURE" in bronze and headed straight for the shelves, wondering where Tristan could be.

"Fiona!" A voice called her name and she turned to catch sight of Tristan between two stacks, sitting at a table.

"Hey! I hope I'm not too late," she said, taking a seat.

"No, you're right on time," he reassured her, "and don't worry, no one's here."

"So why did you want to talk to me about that book?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

"Well, I have no idea who has the book now…actually, do you have any idea which book I'm talking about? It's a leather-bound book with Gaelic writing and…" he started, but she cut him off.

"A dragon design on the front? Yeah, I've seen that book. Actually, I summoned a dragon from it." He looked shocked.

"What!? How did you summon a dragon?" he asked.

"Well, I kinda just read a spell from the book and the dragon appeared," she explained. "Although, it was the weirdest thing; the name O' Sianhan was written in the book. That's how I found out it belonged to my grandma."

He didn't say anything; rather, he picked up his backpack and pulled a book out of it, setting the tome on the table. Her mouth went agape; it was an exact copy of the book she had.

"Who has the book you read the spell from?" he asked, turning the tome to face him.

"Well, I do, but why?" she returned.

"Fiona, do you know where these books come from?" Fi shook her head.

"Well, I know the one I have came from my grandma, but other than that, I don't know," she admitted, shrugging.

"The book you have and this one are spellbooks. My grandfather told me that he and your grandmother Kathleen got them from their mother, Fiona." His statement seemed to make the air weigh a thousand pounds.

"Fiona, our great-grandmother was a witch." If the previous statement he made caused the air to weigh a thousand pounds, then the one he just uttered crushed her under its weight. She was stunned.

"If…if she was…a witch…does that mean…" she stammered, although she couldn't seem to get the words out. Tristan bit his lip, knowing exactly what she was going to ask.

"Yes. Other people in our family are witches too," he said, and she sank in her chair.

"Oh man," she said, still trying to process what was going on.

"I've traced our genealogy back to our great-great-grandmother. Apparently, witchcraft has been in our family since the 1800's, but that's not all I discovered," he continued, and she braced herself for what he was going to say next.

"Our family has an interesting history; I found out that an affinity for magic has been passed down through our family. In fact, you and I…" She cut him off yet again.

"'You and I?' As in, us? We…we're…witches?" she asked, still dazed.

"Well, not exactly. Everyone in our family, your grandmother, my grandfather, our parents and siblings; we all have the potential to become witches. That potential manifests itself as gifts; special abilities," he informed her, shocking her even further. Suddenly, they were interrupted by someone approaching the table.

"Hey, Fi? It's two ten. We have to go meet mom," Jack said, and she turned to look at him.

"Can't I stay here?" she asked.

"Nope. I promised mom we'd meet her when her lecture was finished, and we've got a long walk across campus," he replied, giving her a partial glare.

"We need to talk again. Can you come to my mom's concert tonight? We can talk backstage." She sounded hopeful, yet desperate at the same time. He nodded and her heart soared.

"She's playing the Wilbur Theater at eight," she said, and he nodded again.

"Okay, okay, let's go," Jack said, dragging his sister away from the table. For the most part, she was running on autopilot because she had just been told things that had only begun to change her life.

-X-

Fi sat on a pile of boxes backstage at the Wilbur Theater, kicking her legs. About an hour after she left the library, she started getting anxious; mostly because she needed to know more about what Tristan had been telling her. If the special abilities that ran in her family were because of magical potential, did that mean that there was a reason behind her attraction to the paranormal? She'd never really pondered _why_ she saw all the weird things she had in her life, but now, it was starting to make sense.

Another thought entered her head: she couldn't be the only one in her family with a gift, because Tristan had told her otherwise. If that was true, what sort of special abilities did Jack and her mother have? She didn't think music fell into that category, so what could they have been? Could Jack read minds? Could her mother see the future? She didn't think she'd ever know, but she still had three more hours until she could find out more.

-X-

Fi kicked against the boxes she'd been sitting on and, although it had earned her some strange looks, she'd stayed there until seven forty five. She let out a frustrated sigh and got up to part the curtains. There were a lot of people in the audience, and she scanned the crowd quickly to see…

"Tristan!" she said happily, spotting her cousin towards the front. She bolted for the door on the side of the stage and made her way through the crowd to tap him on the shoulder.

"Hey!" She had to talk louder than she would have, as the people around them were all having their own conversations.

"Fiona! Is there anywhere we could go that's quieter?" he asked, and she thought.

"I know just the place!" she replied, grabbing him by the hand and leading him through the crowd. Opening the backstage door, she guided him into the hallway. Out of nowhere, Molly appeared, adjusting her earrings.

"Hey, kiddo! Who's this?" she asked, stopping for a minute.

"Mom, this is…" Fi started, but Tristan interrupted her.

"I'm Tristan O' Sianhan," he said, and extended his hand. Molly shook it, but looked confused.

"He's Grandma Kathleen's brother's grandson," Fi said, and Molly nodded.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. If you'll excuse me, I have a gig to prepare for," she informed them, and Tristan nodded.

"Okay, let's go," Fi said, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards a door. When she opened it, she revealed a storage room, complete with shelves and boxes. She ushered him in and closed the door behind them, flipping a light switch to illuminate the room in a dim yellow glow. He took off the backpack he was wearing and opened it, pulling his spellbook from within.

"When we were at the library, you mentioned something about special abilities running in our family. Do you think that a paranormal attraction would fall into that category?" she asked, sitting on a box.

"Well, I guess that depends on what you mean by paranormal attraction. Why, do you know anyone like that?" he countered, setting the book on a shelf.

"Well…me," she answered.

"You have an attraction to the paranormal?" He raised an eyebrow. She nodded.

"Okay, you're going to have to explain that to me." He crossed his arms and leaned against the shelves his book was lying on.

"Well, for the last two years, I've seen some of the weirdest things; banshees, werewolves, even a Will o' the Wisp. Before I met you, I thought it was because I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, but after everything you've told me, I think that it might be because of that potential you mentioned."

"It would certainly make sense. Does anyone else in your family have abilities like that?"

"Well, my dad used to investigate the paranormal, but…" Her eyes traveled downward.

"But what?"

"He was killed by evil spirits," she finished.

"I'm so sorry," he said, looking downward as well.

"Actually, I'm starting to think that runs in our family too," she commented.

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, before we left to go on tour, I found out that I'd been targeted by evil spirits, and I think that they might be the same ones that killed my father."

He didn't say anything for a few moments.

"Well, if you're worried about being attacked, I could create protection magic," he offered, and she looked up at him.

"Wait, what?" she asked, surprised.

"I know a lot of protection spells that we could weave into charms. If you wear them, you'll be safe."

"Wait, no. You can do magic?"

He nodded.

"So…you're a witch?"

He chuckled.

"Well, I guess that's what you'd call me, but yes."

Fi was amazed.

"Well, what kind of protection spell could you do?"

He paused to think.

"Well, there are Celtic knots. A lot of people don't know this, but they're perfect to weave spells into. Usually, they're carved into jewelry, but they're extremely hard to weave. I can weave spells into regular knots, though, so it's feasible to create a necklace or bracelet from braided threads and create a protection spell that way."

"Okay. Can we try it?"

He smiled.

"Of course." He reached into his backpack and pulled out three leather strands, and she looked at him oddly.

"Well, I keep these with me because I like to practice tying knots between classes," he explained and, without another word, got to work. Expertly, he braided the three strands together, tying knots at the end to keep it together. When he was done, he tied the braid so that it knotted in the middle, creating a simple necklace.

"Okay, now comes the hard part," he said, sitting down on a box and using the spellbook as a surface. He set the necklace on the book and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in. On either end of the braid, he held his hands a few inches above it and began to concentrate. Fi watched in wonder as the bottom of his hands started to glow with a soft blue light, and she was even more amazed when the glow showered down from his hands and flowed into the knots at either end of the braid. The light traveled along the twisted threads, meeting at the central knot. The glow from his hands was cut off after a couple of minutes, and the light within the necklace faded.

"Wow," she said, her voice hushed.

"That's it. It's a pretty basic protection charm, but it should ward off any evil spirits long enough for you to get away. Creating a charm that would banish them would take a lot longer." He picked the necklace up.

"May I?" he asked, and she nodded, reaching around to lift her hair up so it wouldn't get caught when he tied the necklace. When he tried to put it on her, however, it glowed very brightly and flew out of his hands. She was shocked.

"What happened?" Her hands dropped to her lap as she tried to process what she had just seen.

"I don't know," he answered, picking the necklace up from the floor. When he tried to put it on her again, it was repelled, but he had a tight grip on it this time.

"Hold on," he said, bringing the necklace toward her slowly and watching as it glowed as before.

"Oh my god," he whispered.

"What?" she asked, anxious to know what he had found out.

"No wonder I couldn't put it on you. You're already protected," he said, sounding amazed and relieved at the same time.

"Protected? What do you…" she started, but trailed off as she realized what was going on.

"My father. He's watching over me," she finished, smiling broadly. He looked impressed.

"If you're father's protecting you, there's no need for any of my spells. The protection of a spirit is the most powerful protection magic of all," he said.

"Wait a second. You said that everyone in our family has the potential to become witches, right?" she asked, and he nodded. "Well, do you think that I could be a witch if I practiced?"

He looked wary.

"Fiona, magic takes a lot of practice and a skilled teacher. I've been practicing for six years now, but I'm not as good as you'd need a teacher to be." He looked away for a moment, then looked back up at her.

"You mentioned that you'd been targeted by evil spirits. Do you know why?"

"I figured out that it was because I investigate the paranormal; I wasn't careful enough." She looked sad as she recalled the events that had transpired back at Evelyn's house.

"I think this might have been a mistake then."

His comment stirred up feelings of confusion and indignation.

"Why?"

"If you're attacked by evil spirits every time you encounter the spirit world, then you shouldn't even think about becoming a witch. Magic is invoking spirits and supernatural entities; if they were angry at you for just poking around, what would they do if you started using magic? It's too risky." She opened her mouth to protest, but he interrupted her.

"Fiona, please; for your sake…for your _family's_ sake, please, don't use magic," he pleaded, and she sighed in resignation.

"Okay," she said finally, looking defeated.

"I want you to promise me," he insisted, and she looked him in the eye.

"I promise."

"Thank you," he said gratefully, idly glancing down at his watch.

"Oh no! I have to go! My roommate and I are supposed to be studying in fifteen minutes," he said, getting up and hastily shoving the spellbook back into his backpack. He held the protection charm out to her, and she reluctantly took it.

"You should hold onto that, in case your father's protection wears off. It's always good to have a backup," he advised, and she nodded.

"Hey, we're leaving tomorrow afternoon, but could you meet me at the bus before we leave tomorrow morning?" she asked.

"Actually, I think I can. I don't have class until noon anyway," he said, and she smiled.

"Okay, how does nine thirty sound? We're parked out back."

"I'll be there." His reply left her feeling slightly better about things, and he walked out the door, leaving her alone in the storage room with her new protection charm.

-X-

Later that night, Fi sat in her room on the bus. As usual, her mother's show had gone perfectly, but she was still troubled.

Tristan had made her promise not to use magic, but he had also told her that she had the potential to be a witch. What was the point in having potential if she could never live up to it? Of course, he had been looking out for her best interests, but surely a little magic couldn't hurt?

She sighed as she realized that this was another time that she needed to be careful. If using magic was delving into the spirit world, then she needed to show the same caution to it that she would for anything else paranormal that she encountered.

Thinking for a few minutes, her curiosity started to get the better of her. She picked the spellbook from under her bed and set it in front of her; she paused for a minute to eye the dragon on the cover before opening it. She looked on in wonder as spells written in elegant script adorned the page, and she flipped through the pages, looking for any interesting spells.

"Hmm…to open a door," she read, eyeing the writing. The spell looked harmless enough, but her promise to Tristan kept resounding in her head. She had promised to not do magic, but what could one little spell hurt? She figured that all the spell would do was to open her door, but then again, she thought that the spell she had read in the theater was fake. Who knew what this spell could do?

It was then that she remembered something else Tristan had said: spirit protection was the most powerful protection of all. If the spell happened to conjure something terrible or something bad happened, wouldn't she be safe? It made sense, but even so, she'd promised.

Finally, her desire to experiment overrode her common sense. She needed to see if she really had the potential to be a witch. She took a deep breath and, with fingers caressing her ring, she read the spell on the top of the page the book was open to.

_Without exit or escape,_

_Hear my plea_

_Open a door_

_Now for me_

She waited for a minute, waiting to see if anything happened.

"Well, so much for that spell…" she started to say, but was cut off as she vanished into thin air.

-X-

Jack woke up, walking into the main room of the bus. Apparently, the gig had been rougher on everyone, as someone was always up before him; usually, it was his mom. He sat down at the table, trying to figure out what he was going to eat for breakfast, when a knock sounded at the bus door. Curiously, he walked over to it and saw Tristan through the window; he opened the door.

"Hey, Jack. How are you doing?" Tristan asked.

"Tristan! Actually, I just woke up," Jack replied. Tristan looked worried.

"Did I wake you?"

Jack chuckled.

"No, you didn't. Can I help you with anything?"

"Actually, I'm here to see Fiona. She asked me to meet her here at nine thirty," the Irishman said, and Jack nodded.

"Oh, okay. Um…come in. I'll go get her for you." Jack stepped back and allowed Tristan onto the bus. As soon as the guest was seated, he went to the back and knocked on Fi's door.

"Fi? Tristan's here to see you," he called after she didn't answer, and he opened the door when he didn't hear her say anything. He opened the door and saw…nobody.

"That's weird; Fi's not here," he informed Tristan, who looked concerned.

"Did she leave?" he asked, and Jack shook his head.

"Not that I know of. She would have left a note if she went anywhere," he answered, starting to become concerned as well.

"Well, why don't I leave her a note in her room? When she gets back, she can call me on my dormitory phone," Tristan suggested.

"Yeah. I think Fi has some paper in her room. Follow me," Jack said, getting up as Tristan did. He led the way to the back of the bus and into Fi's room, where he picked up a pencil and a piece of scrap paper from a shelf. Tristan took them and scribbled down his name, phone number, and the instructions to call him; when he was finished, he set the note down on her desk. When he turned around to leave, he caught sight of something that chilled his blood: the spellbook lying open on Fi's bed.

"Oh no…" he said quietly, walking past Jack to look at it.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, but Tristan didn't answer as he read the page the book was open to. His heart stopped as he read the spell on the page.

"What is it?" Jack was slightly annoyed with the lack of responses he was getting.

"I think Fiona might have gone missing."

Tristan's words made Jack stop.

"Wait, missing? What makes you think that?" He was a little worried.

"I don't know…do you have a map of the city?"

Jack was confused now.

"I think we might, but why?" Tristan gave a sigh of impatient.

"There's no time for questions. I need to see if your sister went missing," Tristan insisted.

"Okay, okay! Hold on," Jack said, hurrying to the front of the bus. Behind the driver's seat, there were a few compartments; he dug through them and found a road atlas. Tristan had already made his way to the table.

"This was the best I could do," he told Tristan, who took it from him and began flipping through the pages.

"This will do," he muttered, finding the page that contained a map of Massachusetts. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and extended his pointer finger, almost like he was trying to indicate something on the page. Slowly, he began at one corner of the map and traced a path across it, leaving Jack to wonder what he could be doing. When he finished, he opened his eyes, heart racing.

"She's not here," he said, starting to panic.

"Wait, how do you know that?" Jack was more annoyed now; nothing this person was saying was making any sense.

"You know, for some reason, I don't think you'd believe me if I told you," Tristan said, closing the road atlas.

"Wait, this is some sort of joke?" Jack asked, still in disbelief.

"Do you think Fi would joke around with you like this?" Tristan countered, but they were both distracted by someone else coming from the back of the bus.

"Hey! Who's this?" she asked, but a look of recognition came over her face as she saw Tristan.

"Tristan! It's good to see you again," she said, smiling at him.

"Mom, he's saying Fi went missing," Jack interjected, and Molly's expression became serious.

"Missing? What do you mean?" she asked, starting to become worried.

"Ms. Phillips, I don't even know how to begin explaining this to you. Fiona has…vanished," he stammered, and Molly looked annoyed.

"Okay, you're going to have to explain this to me because if this is a joke, it's really not funny," she said, her voice angry. Tristan sighed as he tried to think of how to phrase his explanation.

"Do you know anything about…strange things that happen to your daughter?"

She looked confused.

"Strange how?"

"Like paranormal strange?"

Molly's expression grew stony.

"She told me about her father, Ms. Phillips; she told me about the things he investigated. Well, something like that is going on here."

"Are you trying to tell me my daughter is dead?" she asked, her voice teetering between tearful and enraged.

"No…at least, I don't _think_ she is. I think that if she were, you of all people would know."

"This isn't funny," she remarked in an icy voice.

"Ms. Phillips, you have to believe me. I have no reason to joke about this. Look, I need to find her, but I need your family's help."

She had had enough.

"Leave. Now," she said, and his shoulders slumped. Just as he was about to leave, she gasped as something happened; it seemed like she was seeing fragments of a movie in her head. She saw Fi, laying unconscious on the ground, mist all around her. She became overwhelmed with the feeling that Fi was in trouble, much like it had been in New York. When the vision vanished, she got up.

"Wait," she called, making Tristan stop just as he was about to open the door.

"I think you're right," she said, and Jack looked at his mom with a look that said, "What the hell?"

"Mom, are you serious? This is probably just some joke Fi's playing," he said, not sounding all too convinced himself.

"Well, I'm going to need at least one of you to help me find her," Tristan said, and Jack scoffed. Molly, on the other hand, seemed to freeze up at the request.

"Jack, you need to help him. I…I have to stay here and take care of business with the club owner," she said, but it didn't seem like she was certain of her plans. Tristan narrowed his eyes as she said this, because it seemed like she couldn't…or wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Mom, seriously? I keep telling you, this is…" he said, but she interrupted him.

"Jack, please. Your sister's in trouble." She pleaded, looking him directly in the eye. He sighed.

"Fine, what do we need to do?"

-X-

Fi groaned as she awoke, looking around. It was darker than she remembered, and she knew immediately she wasn't in her room.

"Where am I?" she asked, feeling cold from the mist that hugged the ground. She couldn't shake the feeling that she'd been to this place before, but as she didn't know where she was, there was no way she could be sure.

"Hello?" she called, looking around to see if anyone was there. When no one answered, she shivered. The lack of life around was starting to scare her.

-X-

Back in Fi's room, Jack sat on a chair while Tristan sat on the bed.

"So how exactly do you propose to get my sister back?" Jack asked. Tristan held up the necklace he'd made for her.

"This. It already has a connection to me, but I need to add something that's connected to her. I'd say that something like a piece of clothing, but the best thing I could use is with her," he explained.

"Her ring?" Jack guessed.

"Bingo; but as we don't have that here, there is one thing that's better," Tristan confirmed, and Jack felt a small twinge of fear.

"What's that?"

"Blood."

The answer made Jack's eyes go wide.

"How much blood are we talking about?" He sounded nervous.

"Just a couple drops."

Jack was relieved.

"Okay, hold out your hand," Tristan requested, and Jack complied. Tristan turned his hand over so the palm was facing up, then used a knife to prick Jack's fingertip. Jack winced, but the pain subsided; Tristan was able to squeeze three drops from the finger onto the necklace's central knot. When he was finished, he looked around.

"Do you have any rope or anything like that?" he asked.

"I think we might have some in the storage space. Hang on." With that, Jack ran out of the room, through the bus, and outside, where he flung the storage compartment on the outside of the bus wide open. He produced a length of rope and shut the compartment, rushing back to Fi's room.

"Will this do?" he said, and Tristan nodded. He took the rope.

"Hold out your hand."

Jack did as he was asked and Tristan tied the rope around his wrist, tying the other end around his own.

"Jack, I need you to listen carefully. This is going to be the only thing that will ensure that I have a way back. Make sure it stays connected to you at all times," he warned. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"_Connected now through space and time, answer now my words and rhyme. Travel now through space and time, to recover what is mine_," he recited, and almost immediately, he was surrounded by a white light. He could feel the rope go tense as Jack put up his hands to shield his eyes.

-X-

When the light faded, Jack's sight returned enough to see…nothing. Tristan had disappeared, and so had half of the rope.

"What is going on here?" he asked no one.

-X-

When the light faded, Tristan looked around to see a dark place with mist hovering just above the ground.

"So this is where she got off to," he muttered, looking around for anything that might tell him where he was. He could see a rock by a dead tree, but that wasn't much help. He opened his hand to reveal the protection charm that had managed to come with him.

"_Aimsigh_," he whispered, blowing on the knot. Nothing happened, and he realized that it would be useless in finding Fiona, as she had never actually worn the charm. Now he was stuck in a strange place with no idea where Fi was.

-X-

It seemed like she had been walking forever and had found nothing, and Fi let out a frustrated growl. Her ring hadn't been helping things either, as it hadn't glowed once since she'd arrived there. Out of nowhere, a floating ball of light appeared and hovered in front of her, and it was then that she realized where she was: the Nexus.

"Well, look at who I found. How are you, little duck?" Bricriu said, swirling in the air.

"I've been better," she spat, her words filled with no emotion for the spunkie.

"Now, how did you end up here? I don't remember bringing you." The Will o' the Wisp actually sounded confused.

"I came here by accident." Her face set in a stony expression.

"An accident? How did you manage that?" The light circled her a few times and then came to rest where it had been before.

"Oh, you silly little duck; you've been toying with magic, although I can't say I blame you. It's in your blood."

"How did you know that?" She was slightly angry.

"Sometimes you forget; the spirits know things you might not think they do," Bricriu replied.

"Look, could you just tell me how to get back to the real world?" she asked, annoyed.

"Oh, little duck, as much as I'd like to help you, I can't. Since you brought yourself here, you have to get yourself out. Don't you know the spell to get back?" Suddenly, the spirit stopped talking.

"Hold the phone. Someone else is here. Did another unfortunate mortals manage to trap themselves here like you did? Oh, this is no ordinary mortal; I can feel the magic from here. Goodbye, little duck!" With that, Bricriu zoomed away, leaving her no better off than she had been before arriving.

-X-

Tristan jumped when a floating ball of light appeared in front of him.

"Hello there! I see you've brought some powerful magic with you, but…oh, you've got a lifeline! We can't have that, now can we?" it said, circling the end of the rope.

"Curses. You've got it tied to someone, don't you?" it asked.

"Who…or what are you?" Tristan countered.

"Who or what I am doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're very powerful," it replied, and zoomed toward him. It hit his chest and bounced off.

"You know, I'm sick of not being able to possess people! Curse you and your protection charm. Wait a second, why does it work here? By all rights, your magic should be null and void here," it pouted. It moved closer to him.

"You…you've got O' Sianhan blood in your veins. I should have known. You lot are always getting yourselves into trouble. If it's not back-sassing spirits, it's getting yourselves trapped in the Nexus." It sounded bitter, wary, and awed at the same time.

"Trapped in the Nexus? Wait…you've seen Fiona!" he realized.

"Oh, no, I've said too much. Goodbye!" It started to vanish, but he threw out a hand.

"_Stad!_" he commanded, and the spirit froze in place.

"Let me go!" it shouted.

"Not until you take me to Fiona," he said, concentrating on holding the light with his spell.

"No! She got herself into this mess, it's her job to get herself out. Besides, how can you make me? Sure, you can hold me, but you can't hurt me," it teased. He paused, knowing the spirit was right. It was then that he got an idea and smiled.

"_Go loca mé_," he said, and a light appeared around the spirit, forming an orb. He severed the magic that held it in place. It tried to leave, but ended up hitting the walls of the spell and bouncing off.

"Let me go!" it said, but it sounded less sure of itself this time.

"Tell me where Fiona is; I'll let you go when we find her," he replied.

"Ach. I should be able to break this magic, but you're practiced. Very well. If she hasn't moved, she should be straight past the tree."

Tristan looked over to where it had mentioned, but saw nothing.

"It doesn't look like she's over there."

"Obviously, you don't travel to the Nexus very often. Just walk past the tree."

Sighing, he did as he was told and felt a chill as the world around him shifted. Soon, he was standing somewhere else.

"Tristan!"

He jumped when he heard a voice behind him and turned around to see Fi, who ran up to him.

"How'd you find me?" she asked, and he shifted the orb so that it was right in front of him.

"This little trickster showed me the way," he said, chuckling.

"Okay, okay, you found her. Now let me go!" Bricriu ordered, and Tristan made a motion with his hand. The orb vanished.

"You'll pay for imprisoning me, Tristan O' Sianhan," the Wisp spat, vanishing from sight.

"So what do you say we get out of here?" she asked.

"Hold on. That spirit mentioned something about getting yourself trapped here. Did you read a spell from the book?"

She looked away.

"Yes," she admitted, bracing herself for a lecture.

"I think you know not to toy with magic now," was all he said. She looked back up at him.

"Aren't you going to tell me that I was wrong for using magic?"

"I'm disappointed that you broke your promise to me, but I can't say that I blame you for that. Magic is a very intriguing thing, but I hope your trip here has taught you something. The next time something like this happens, I might not be around to save you."

"Well, thanks." She smiled and gave him a hug.

"_The thing I lost is mine again, so take us back from whence we came_," he said, engulfing them in white light.

-X-

Jack was startled when a white light appeared out of nowhere, and he shielded his eyes against it. When it faded, he put his hands down to see Tristan and Fi standing there. Jack was overjoyed.

"You're back!" he said, rushing over to his sister and smothering her with a hug. Suddenly, Molly opened the door.

"Baby! You're all right!" she said, stepping into the room and wrapping her arms around both of her children. She looked up at Tristan.

"Thank you for bringing my daughter back," she said gratefully, and he smiled.

"You're welcome," he replied.

-X-

Fi and Tristan stood at the door to the bus; she was inside, he was outside.

"I wish we didn't have to go. I really liked learning about our family," she said with a sad smile.

"I do too, but you have my e-mail address. I'm only a click away," he reassured her. "Oh, and why don't you hold on to this?" He held the necklace he'd made for her out, and she took it.

"Okay, guys, it's time to go!" Molly said, approaching the bus.

"Tristan, thanks again," she added, hugging him. He returned the embrace. As soon as Molly got on, the bus rumbled to life.

"Be careful," he called to Fi, and she waved as she closed the door. He watched the bus roll off, but didn't notice the ball of light hovering in the alley just behind him.


	5. S3, E4: Vision

**Season 3, Episode 4: ****"Vision"**

_Although most of us use our eyes to see the world around us, there are people who can see more than that. Remember Evelyn? I've also experienced the firsthand effects of someone…or something….that was able to see the future before it happened. Even though I've never met one, I'm sure there are people out there who can see the future before it happens. I've been told that you can change anything, but it really makes me wonder: can the people that have the power of foresight change what they see, or are they helpless to watch as their visions come true?_

As the first notes of the song came out of the keyboard, everyone in the club went quiet as Molly took a deep breath, preparing for the lyrics she was about to sing. As much as she didn't like the memories associated with that particular song, it seemed fitting to put on that night's set list for some reason.

"It's dark outside and the baby's asleep, you're going for a ride," she sang, feeling the same combination of sadness and dread as when she'd first written it.

"Why is it black? What is this tingle on the back of my neck?" Surprisingly, the words came true and she felt a growing sense of foreboding. Maybe it was just the song, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. It worried her even more that she couldn't put her finger on what it was. She kept singing, but a look of worry was starting to creep over her face.

"Words that will never be spoken the moment I lose you…" As soon as she sang those words, she had to keep herself from falling to her knees. In her head, she could hear a horrible sound, like metal being ripped apart.

_Mom!_ She could hear Fi's voice, screaming. The one word was filled with terror.

_Mom, no!_ Jack was screaming as well, and then both voices were silenced by another loud, metallic noise. It was all she could do keep a tear from falling down her cheek.

-X-

As soon as the band started playing "Love is Broken," Fi felt a chill go through her entire body. Although she hadn't been around to hear her mother perform the song in New York, the thought that it might have been a premonition of her father's death had been haunting her since then, especially after what her mother said to her after that whole incident where they all went silent.

"What's wrong?" came a voice from behind her, and she jumped, turning around to see Jack standing there.

"Nothing," she replied, uncertain that she was telling the truth. She felt something akin to resonation just under her skin and looked down at her ring. To her surprise, a silvery light raced across the engraving, and she looked up to see that her mother's was doing the same thing. Thankfully, the bright stage lights would just make it look like a reflection and Jack was too busy watching their mom perform to notice, but something was definitely happening. She noticed that her mother was having trouble standing.

"It couldn't be…" she whispered, trying to decide if the conclusion she'd arrived at as to what was going on could even be feasible. After everything Tristan and her mother had told her, it seemed likely, but she didn't think she'd ever know for sure. Running her finger over the engraving on her ring, she felt some of her worry melt away. She only wished she could do the same thing for her mother.

-X-

As the guitar solo ended, Molly felt a comforting feeling wash over her. It almost felt like…Rick? As impossible as that would be, it made her feel better to entertain the thought.

"Your breath is still on my lips…"

-X-

Everyone seemed worn out as they boarded the bus, and they knew that twelve hours from now, they'd be in the next town where they'd do the same thing all over again. Carey and Ned were loading the last of the equipment into the storage compartments, and Molly turned to Fi and Jack.

"Hey, you two, it's been a long night. Go to bed," she said, earning a nod from her son and a sigh from her daughter.

"Can't I just stay up and check my website for an hour or two?" Fi asked, her tone hopeful.

"You'll have plenty of time to check your website tomorrow, Fiona. Get to bed," Molly replied, giving her a stern look. Her daughter frowned, climbing the stairs to get inside the bus. Ned popped in.

"All right, we're ready to go!" he called, and they started moving as soon as Ned brought the bus to life. Molly was worried because the sense of foreboding hadn't left her when she'd finished performing. The things that she had heard had been frightening, but she was probably just suffering from post-gig stress. It happened, especially since she'd decided to go back on tour right away.

She felt slightly better as they rolled out of town, but she didn't feel like going to sleep. There was too much to think about.

-X-

Fi turned over restlessly in her bed. What had happened in the club had been bugging her since they left, but she couldn't do any research…or could she?

Ever so quietly, she snuck over to the stand where she kept her laptop. Keeping constant pressure on the switch so it didn't make any noise, she opened her computer. Suddenly, her door opened and Molly stood there, looking into her room.

"No computer tomorrow," she said, and Fi stood there, dumbfounded.

"How did she know?" Fi asked aloud.

-X-

Molly slept quietly, having banished the thoughts about…whatever it was that had happened while she had been singing.

The air around her window started to shimmer and, silent in the dark, a shadow hovered above the bed. Molly's breath quickened as it passed over her and her eyes fluttered open. Faintly, her ring glowed in the dark as she awoke, skin tingling with the sense that something was wrong.

She sat up, looking around for anything that might look out of place. It wasn't there, but it was near. Quietly, she got up and opened her door, squinting against the soft lights that were still on in the main part of the bus. She looked over at Jack and Fi's doors, trying to find whatever it was that had woken her. All of a sudden, every light in the bus went off, plunging her into darkness.

She gasped as she realized that the lights were still on and made her way up to the front of the bus, where Ned was driving.

"Hey, Ned, is anything wrong with the wiring on the bus?" she asked, worried.

"No, why?" he asked and as he did, all of the lights went out, including the headlights. Ned applied the brakes quickly, doing his best not to jolt the vehicle as he did so. Molly's breath caught in her throat as she saw that they had come extremely close to going off the road. Ned looked shocked.

-X-

Molly bent down to see what Ned was pointing at.

"See? The battery wires got disconnected. I guess it's a good thing that they didn't break or we'd be out of luck," he said, reconnecting the cables to the battery.

"Besides, it's only a minor setback. We'll be to the next town right away," he added, leading the way back to the bus. Thankfully, it started and they were on their way. The foreboding she'd felt before was gone, but she was still wary. That didn't seem like it had happened on accident.

-X-

Molly was up with the sun, and they were just getting to the outskirts of town. She'd let the kids sleep in, but the adults on the bus had to take care of business and set up on stage. It was going to be a long day of rehearsing before the gig.

-X-

"…but I come out on the other side of paradise! Oh, yeah, paradise!" The lyrics bled from the speakers and the rough sound made by the guitar Molly was playing filled the empty house, and the entire band was playing their hearts out.

"That sounded amazing!" she said, earning cheers from the band members. Her smile froze as she felt her heart beat faster, a chill coming over her entire body. Her fears were confirmed when she looked over at Ned.

"Ned, look out! The speaker!" she shouted, turning everyone's attention to Ned. They all watched in horror as one of the larger speakers started to topple forward. Ned looked up at the speaker in shock and was taken down as Carey tackled him out of the way. They both landed on the ground, but Carey was groaning in pain. Molly took the guitar off and ran over to see that the speaker had landed on the younger Bell's foot, crushing it. Without another thought, she ran over to a table offstage and took out her cell phone, dialing 911.

-X-

As soon as the speaker fell, Fi knew that something weird was definitely going on, but what was bothering her was that her mother had said something a second before it fell. Could her mother have seen or felt it coming? Her remarks hinting that she might have known about her father's death before it happened were starting to make more sense, but she couldn't know for sure. She'd definitely have to observe things more closely from now on.

-X-

Molly waited with everyone outside the theater as the ambulance took Carey away. He had said that he wanted the show to stay on, but his dismay at not having been able to play the gig was apparent. The foreboding was back, and it seemed to Molly that something bad was just seconds away from happening.

When they were all back inside, she gathered the band together.

"Okay guys, we're down a guitarist, but there's not much we can do about it. We can just change some of the songs on the set list," she said, trying to keep morale up.

"So what kind of songs do you want to do?" her bassist asked.

"Well, I could do The Rock, Rebecca, Love is Broken, just songs that don't really require any solos. We can do a few shows like that for now. I don't think we're going to any big venues for the next month or so." Everyone nodded.

"Okay, let's get to practicing. We haven't done The Rock in a while, so we'll rehearse it a few times to get it down," she announced, and everyone got into position.

-X-

When the band started playing, Fi ran over to her laptop and opened her browser. She opened the e-mail window and started typing:

_Tristan –_

_Meet me on InstaGab when you can. I've got something to ask you._

_- Fi_

She hit SEND and then opened InstaGab, but only her username showed in the window. It took a minute, but Tristan's e-mail popped up.

_Tristan: Long time, no talk, Fiona._

_Fi: Sorry about that. I have an important question for you.  
Tristan: Is it something paranormal?  
Fi: You know it. Is there any way I can identify a spirit?  
Tristan: What do you mean?  
Fi: Well, I think there might be a spirit haunting the building my mom's performing at. Is there a way to identify it so I could get rid of it?  
Tristan: …I don't know. Let me check the book.  
Fi: Okay.  
Tristan: Here we go. A Modagh circle. Turn to page 80 in the book._

_Fi: Okay, what does it do?_

_Tristan: Read the page._

Fi looked at the book and read what she saw aloud.

"A Modagh circle is a design that protects a building from entry by spirits that intend to do someone harm. Drawn with white chalk at the four points of the compass, it creates a barrier that evil cannot cross." The intricate design was intimidating, but if it meant protecting her family, it was worth the effort.

-X-

Fi felt heavy as she walked into a store, eyes darting around before finding a sign that said "Office Supplies." It didn't take her long to find a pack of chalk, but she felt silly buying it to ward off evil spirits. After all, did chalk really have any magical power?

She dismissed the questions in her head for now and walked up to the register, where a woman who looked decidedly bored greeted her.

"Did you find everything you were looking for?" she asked, and Fi nodded, avoiding eye contact. Her chalk was paid for in no time and she hurried out of the store, anxious to start making the protective circles.

-X-

"Up…and…around," she said aloud as she imitated the design on the book's page. After comparing her design, she was satisfied that it looked like what it was supposed to. It had taken her an hour, but she'd finished all four designs. Hopefully, they would be enough to keep them all safe until they left.

-X-

"Please welcome…Molly Phillips!" Those words were Molly's signal to go onstage with the rest of her band, and she was met with cheers and applause.

"Hey, everyone! We're trying something a little different tonight, so we hope you enjoy it!" she said into the mic, strapping her guitar over her shoulder. The count of "one, two, three" was given and they all started to play In the Darkness.

"Demons come from every side…"

-X-

Fi felt her ring resonating again, and she looked onto the stage to see if everything was okay. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something _might_ happen.

-X-

"Free to be down here on my knees, yeah," Molly sang, strumming the strings of the guitar.

"Just when I thought I'd lost my sight…" She almost stopped when she got the overwhelming feeling that she was in danger. Nothing was happening, so she had to continue playing, but something was going to happen.

-X-

When In the Darkness finished, she turned to the band.

"Love is Broken," she said, getting a chill. While she didn't want to play that song, it felt like she had to. The keyboard started and she took off her guitar, stepping up to the mic.

"It's cold outside and the baby's asleep, you're going for a ride. Why is it black? What is this tingle on the back…" She stopped mid-sentence and looked up to the steel beam that the stage lights were on.

"Move!" she yelled, scrambling backward just as the beam came down onto the stage. She fell onto the floor and stopped, blood frozen in her veins. Her mic stand lay crushed under the beam, exactly where she'd been standing.

-X-

Fi stared, mouth agape as she watched the accident unfold in front of her. Her mother had almost been crushed, but she'd moved back at the last second. She was glad Molly was okay, but it was starting to look like the possibility that her mother had seen these things before they happened was starting to become something more than a possibility.

The concert came to a halt after the beam fell, and the theater had been evacuated by the manager. Irene was talking with the club manager, trying to figure things out on the business end.

"Well, the beam fell and that was pretty much it," Molly said, and the policeman nodded, scribbling some notes down on a pad before turning away. The musician turned to Fi.

"Baby, can I use your computer?" she asked, and Fi gave her a strange look.

"Sure. It's over there," she replied, pointing to where her laptop was. Molly nodded and walked over to it, flipping it open. She paused before doing anything as she remembered the first time she had searched for information on premonitions, but the articles had all seemed too far-fetched to make any sense. The way things were going, though, had started to change her attitude.

She opened the search window and typed "PREMONITIONS" into the box. One click had the computer working and she chose an article from the list that had appeared on the screen.

It was nothing she hadn't seen before. It was the ability to see the future, but she hadn't found anything to answer a more pressing question. Frustrated, she closed her eyes to stop the tears from coming up.

"If I can see the future, why can't I change it?" she said. Suddenly, an icon popped up.

"You have mail," the computer announced, and she warily clicked on the icon. To her surprise, she found an e-mail addressed to her from an unknown sender. She bit her lip and opened it, reading the message it contained.

YOU CAN CHANGE ANYTHING.

"What?" she whispered, confused by what she just read. Had the computer heard her question and answered her? Or was something else at work here? In any case, she felt her helplessness vanish, replaced with comfort. She had gotten the answer to her question.

-X-

"The club manager says he'll pay double if you'll play here tomorrow night," Irene said, holding the contract.

"Did he forget that I almost got killed onstage?" Molly countered, crossing her arms.

"He said he was sorry, but he's getting a new beam put in tomorrow and he swears it won't fall like the last one," the manager said, and Molly sighed.

"Fine, but I won't play if I almost die again," she replied, still conflicted about her choice.

-X-

Fi opened InstaGab in the hope that Tristan would be there. He wasn't, but his screen name popped up.

_Tristan: Hello, Fiona.  
Fi: Hey, Tristan, I've got good news and bad news._

_Tristan: What's the bad news?_

_Fi: The Modagh circles didn't work. My mom was almost killed last night._

_Tristan: I don't think I can help you because I don't know exactly what you did. Try re-reading the page again and see if you missed anything. So what's the good news?_

_Fi: I think I'm stumbling onto a major discovery about my family._

_Tristan: Care to elaborate?_

_Fi: I'm not sure yet._

_Tristan: Be sure to keep me updated. I have to go study for a final, but e-mail me if you need any help._

_Fi: Will do._

She closed InstaGab and turned around to run outside. Making her way to the bus, she went straight to her room and produced the book of Celtic magic from inside her trunk. She located the page about Modagh circle and found a section of text she hadn't seen before.

"The protection of the circles is activated with the incantation _dúnaim_." She let out a frustrated growl as she realized how stupid she'd been for not having read that part in the first place, but there was nothing she could have done about it; however, there was something she could do about it now.

Determined, she walked out onto the stage where the beam was being cleared away and closed her eyes, focusing on the designs she'd drawn.

"_Dúnaim_," she said, feeling her ring resonating again. When she opened her eyes, everything felt…safer, somehow. The magic had worked, and her mother would have no problem as long as she stayed inside the club.

-X-

The next day, Fi approached the nurses' desk at the hospital, and a woman looked up at her from some files.

"Can I help you?" the nurse asked.

"Yeah, I'm here to see Carey Bell," Fi replied, placing her hands on the counter.

"Carey Bell…Room 302," the nurse said after punching something into her computer. Fi thanked her and started her journey down the hallway to the room.

Carey's face lit up when he saw her over the leg the doctors had suspended in the air.

"I didn't know I'd be getting visitors today!" he said, exuding his happiness at seeing her.

"Well, _visitor_. Everyone else is getting ready for the gig," she teased, taking a seat at a chair next to his bed.

"Wait, Molly's playing again?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah…your parents didn't tell you?" Now Fi was worried.

"They didn't mention anything when they were here last night." His head sank back into some pillows.

"Well, she's playing again tonight. The club owner assured her that she'd be safe." Her words reflected her amount of belief in the promise.

"Something else happened?" He raised his head up by stuffing more pillows under it.

"Yeah. One of the lighting beams fell onto the stage." It was all she could do to not relive the incident.

"That club's pretty dangerous," he remarked, making her laugh.

"So how's your foot?" she asked.

"Better than I thought. He said that it's just a severely sprained ankle. I'll be out of commission for at least three weeks," he answered, sounding depressed.

"Three weeks? We've got a lot of gigs between now and then. What are you going to do?"

"Your mom said she'd get another guitarist until I get out of the hospital. After that, I'm going to see if she'll let me play sitting down." He laughed at the last part of his statement.

"I'm sure she will," Fi assured him.

"Hey, I'm going to get going. I have some homework to do," she said.

"Oh, okay. Make sure you come and visit again," he admonished, doing his best to sound serious. She chuckled and got up.

"Everything's going to be okay," she said, turning around when she reached the door. She didn't know why she said it, but it seemed to ease her fears as well as his.

-X-

Molly ran her fingers across the guitar strings.

"The rock forged my spirit, the rock was my anchor…" She froze mid-sentence as a horrible feeling of dread filled her again. Before her eyes sprawled a scene of a street, cars going by. Suddenly, Fi rounded the corner and, after seeing that she had the OK to cross, stepped into the street. Just as she did, a car turned a sharp right and slammed right into her. She started stammering into the microphone.

"Um…take five! Take five!" she said loudly, and the band stopped, confused.

"I have to go do something really quick," she said, taking the guitar's strap off and setting the instrument on the stage. She ran for the entrance, the terrible sight of the vision burned into her mind. She had to save Fi.

-X-

Almost to the theater, Fi stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the red hand to turn into a white man. It did and she started to cross, keeping an eye out for any cars. Just as she was about to step into the street, she saw her mother running to the intersection, waving her hands and shouting something. She paused to try and make out Molly's words, but the world stopped as a car zoomed right in front of her. Had she been in the street at the time, she would have been killed.

It seemed funny that rather than fixate on the fact that she'd almost been killed, she was more concerned with the fact that she'd been _stopped_ from crossing the street. There was no way she could have been coming out of the theater at the right time and tried to warn her, and things were starting to become clearer. She just needed to investigate this matter a bit more.

-X-

Molly watched as Fi stopped just short of being hit. Her warning had come just in time.

As much as she hadn't wanted to have the vision, she was glad she had, even if she was still coming to terms with the fact that she now fell into the category of things her daughter called "Weird." If a person who could see the future didn't go there, then she didn't know what did.

She didn't want to tell anyone, as she already knew how the bus crew reacted to Fi's reports of weird stuff. She'd probably just get dismissed as "stressed," but of course, there was always the chance that Fi was going to find out anyway. Her daughter had a knack for curiosity and perseverance, two traits she'd inherited from Rick. That, coupled with an affinity for the paranormal, and she probably already knew.

It hurt to know that she had now been drawn into what had gotten Rick killed, but as long as she had visions, she would protect her family. She had to, now that her husband was gone.

-X-

The gig went off without a hitch. Nothing bad happened, and no one else got hurt, but the air took on a different feel outside of the club. Both Molly and Fi could feel something more sinister, but neither of them knew what it was. Since Carey needed to stay the night at the hospital, Irene decided to stay with her son and Ned had opted to take them to the next town. He'd drop off the Phillips' and the band at a motel and go back for them.

Everyone except for Ned and Molly was asleep, and Molly was busying herself with Fi's laptop. She was still searching for articles about premonitions, hoping that at least one of them held some valuable advice for her about her gift. When she didn't find anything, she set the computer on the table and went back into her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and laid down on the bed, awash in foreboding. She had a feeling that what she'd seen so far was nothing compared to what was coming.

Just as she got to sleep, her eyes shot open when the horrible grinding sound she'd first heard playing Love is Broken woke her up. It was going to happen.

She got up and reached for the door handle but when she pulled it, the door didn't open. Her heart almost stopped as she frantically tried to open it, realizing that whatever was coming was getting closer, and she wasn't able to do anything about it. Closing her eyes, she sighed and leaned her head on the door, frustrated. Out of nowhere, she found herself thinking about the e-mail she'd received.

"You can change anything," she whispered, and her ring started to glow. She felt a new determination grow in her and she yanked on the door handle, successfully opening it. Immediately, she bolted for the front of the bus.

"Ned! Look out!" she yelled, bracing herself for what was about to happen.

Ahead of the bus, there was something lying in the road. As they approached it, she realized that it was a large tree branch, and Ned swerved as she caught sight of it, but wasn't fast enough. The bus' right front tires hit it and were lifted off the road, causing the bus to tip. Ned erratically jerked the wheel, and the motion caused the vehicle to sway in the air, eventually causing a shift in balance that stopped time itself.

In that split second, Molly felt the world turn as the bus landed on its side, still propelled by the momentum it had from accelerating at sixty miles per hour. She fell backwards, landing on the top of one of the bench seats that jutted out from the wall with the table. A horrible grinding sound filled the air and she lay there, helpless and being showered by sparks created by the metal scraping against the road.

-X-

Fi woke up as soon as she felt her ring resonating, and she knew immediately that something was wrong. She got up and cracked her door in time to see her mother's fly open. She watched as Molly ran to the front of the bus, yelling something, but before she could make out what it was, the bus turned on its side and she fell through her doorway onto the wall next to Jack's.

"Mom!" she screamed.

-X-

Jack sat up in bed, confused. It felt like he'd been having a nightmare, although it must not have been very vivid because he couldn't remember it. Suddenly, he tumbled out of his bed and hit the wall of his room when the bus turned over. His ears were assaulted with a metallic grinding and without a thought, he grabbed for the top edge of his bed. He hoisted himself up until he was close enough to the door to push it open. It swung upward and he grabbed for the doorframe, letting out a cry when the door slammed on his fingers.

Fighting through the pain, he pried the door open and stuck his other hand in, using this new position to force the door open when he pulled himself up. He looked over just in time to see his mom fall.

"Mom! No!" he yelled, almost drowned out by the horrible scrape.

-X-

The bus skidded to a halt and Molly looked up to see the bus in utter chaos.

"Jack? Fi?" she called weakly, struggling to position herself more comfortably.

"Mom?" she heard them both call, and an immense wave of relief washed over her. Both of her children were alive.

"Ned? Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm okay, Molly," he replied, and she knew that, regardless of the damage done to the bus, they were all alive. Irene would probably have a meltdown that the bus was out of commission for at least two weeks, but that wouldn't matter. She could put the tour on hold for now.

-X-

They all stood outside, awash in flashing red and blue lights. Police had helped them all out of the overturned bus, and trucks were working to put it upright again.

"There was a tree branch in the middle of the road and it got under our tires," Molly explained to a police officer.

"Thank you, Ms. Phillips. We'll let you know if we need any more information," he replied, and she nodded. When she turned around, Fi was standing there.

"Did you see it, mom?" she asked, and Molly froze.

"What do you mean?" she countered.

"I mean, did you see the accident before it happened?" Fi pressed, crossing her arms.

"Baby, I…just had an instinct, that's all," Molly said, trying to dismiss her daughter as best she could.

"Mom…" Fi started, but Molly walked over to her and wrapped her in a hug.

"Baby, I don't know what it was, but I promise you that I'll always protect you," she whispered, leaving Fi curious and frustrated at the same time when she walked away to find Jack. It was then that Fi thought of something and ran over to the bus that was now sitting on its tires like it was supposed to.

She looked frantically through the chaotic inside and found her laptop surprisingly unharmed. Setting aside her discomfort after having discovered her computer untouched, she opened it and saw that the e-mail screen was up.

"One for mom?" she asked aloud, feeling like something was off. When she caught sight of the message sender, she clicked on the message without hesitation. A smile came over her face when she read the words on the screen.

"You can change anything." This was what she had been waiting for. At least she'd finally gotten the answer she was looking for, and this time, it unlocked a part of her family's history.


	6. S3, E5: Poltergeist

**Season 3, Episode 5: ****"Poltergeist"**

_We've all heard about ghosts, whether it's in movies or haunted houses. They can go through walls, and they scare people. There are stories, though, about ghosts that do more than that. In India, they're known as "mumai." In Germany and the rest of the world, they're known as poltergeists. They make noise and haunt houses, but it's also said that they're extremely violent. Rumor has it that some poltergeists are just angry spirits that were wronged in life, but what if they're more sinister than that? What if they just want to hurt us?_

"What do you mean, 'postponed?'" Molly said, trying to keep her indignation quiet.

"I understand that it's a serious safety issue, but you could have given a little more notice. We're already almost in Arkansas," she continued, irritated. The person on the other end of the line seemed hell-bent on not working with her.

"Fine. Four days," she said finally, hanging up the phone. Irene looked skeptically at the musician from across the table.

"What was that all about?" she asked, flipping the pages of the magazine she was skimming.

"The club manager said that they need to take care of a rat infestation. It'll be four days before we can play," Molly explained, setting the phone down on the table.

"Well, what are we going to do until then?" Irene inquired.

"How about we go to an amusement park or something?" Carey chimed in, looking up from the notebook he was writing in.

"And risk you hurting your ankle because you walked too much? No way, mister," she responded, looking at her elder son. "The doctor said three weeks of rest."

"Aw, come on, mom. It'll just be for a few hours," he pleaded. The look he got back from his mother told him her answer.

"How about we…" Fi started, but was cut off from the rest of her sentence by the phone's ringing. Molly picked it up and answered it.

"Hello? This is she. Andrea, hi! How have you been?" She sounded excited to hear the other person's voice, and they made small talk.

"Come for a visit? Wow, that works out great. My gig in St. Louis got postponed, so we're free for the next few days. Why don't I talk to everyone and get back to you? Okay, bye." Molly hung up the phone.

"That was Andrea Davis. She's a guitarist in a band that the PKB toured with for a few months, and she invited us for a visit to her house near Little Rock. It's only an hour away, and we've got some time. What does everyone think?" she asked, addressing the group. Almost unanimously, they all wanted to visit.

"I'll call her back and tell her we're coming," she said, smiling as she dialed the phone.

-X-

The sun had barely started its descent in the sky when they got to Andrea's place and as soon as the bus doors opened, a woman with long brown hair, fair skin, and a huge smile greeted them.

"Molly Phillips, it's been ages!" Andrea said, embracing her friend.

"It's been too long," Molly replied.

"Oh, you look as good as you did back in the band days," Andrea commented, studying Molly. "And who are these people?"

"Andrea, this is my daughter Fiona, my son Jack, my head roadie Ned, his wife Irene, and their son Carey." She gestured to each of them as she introduced the group. "Andrea is the guitarist for Soft Spoken."

Everyone expressed their pleasure at meeting her.

"So, who's ready for some tea?" Andrea asked, smiling cheerfully.

-X-

"Ms. Davis, this is the best egg salad I've ever had," Fi exuded, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"I got that recipe from my mother," Andrea commented, pouring more tea into her cup.

"So, where's Todd?" Molly asked, spooning some sugar into her tea.

"Oh, he's been visiting his sister in Baton Rouge for the last few weeks," Andrea explained. "He was really excited because her son is graduating high school."

"Oh! Well, tell him that I said congrats when you talk to him next," Molly said.

"So where are you going to stay for the next few days?" Andrea asked, taking a sip of tea.

"Oh, I don't know. We'll probably just end up getting a hotel in St. Louis until the gig," Molly answered, shrugging.

"Nonsense! I won't have it. St. Louis is only…what, six hours from here? Plus, I can guarantee you that my cooking is better than any hotel food. You can leave in a couple days when you need to rehearse. I won't take no for an answer," Andrea insisted, causing Molly to bite her lip.

"Well, I guess we could stay here," she said finally, causing Andrea's grin to become even wider.

"Great! I'll go get the guest rooms ready," Andrea said, but was interrupted by Irene's phone ringing.

"Excuse me," she said, smiling sheepishly as she got up and left the room. She came back a couple of minutes later.

"So, the owner of the club in St. Louis said that it'd be more than a week until the place was clear, BUT he said that he could swing it so that you could play a friend's club in Memphis instead of his for two nights starting the day after tomorrow since you were inconvenienced. He also said that the people who were supposed to see you in St. Louis would make the extra trip to see you in Memphis…" Irene said, covering the phone's mouthpiece.

"I don't know…" Molly said, torn. She didn't want to pass up an offer like that, but it meant that they'd only be able to stay one night instead of three.

"Fi? Jack? What do you want to do?" she asked her children finally.

"Can we stay here?" Fi chimed in before her brother could say anything, and Jack slumped in his chair.

"You know, someone's going to have to look after you," he said, shrugging.

"Well what about Carey?" Molly looked over at the Bells.

"I can stay here. It's not like I'd be playing anyway," Carey replied nonchalantly, not looking up from the magazine he was reading.

"Okay, fine. Jack, Carey, and Fi can stay here, and we can swing back on the way to New Orleans," Irene said, uncovering the mouthpiece of the phone and exiting to talk.

-X-

_If 2x + 50 = 95, solve for x._

Fi gritted her teeth and poised her pencil above the paper, processing the final equation on her algebra quiz. With a few quick pencil strokes, she came to the conclusion that _x = 22.5_ and sat back, letting out a big sigh of relief. She wasn't done with assignments by any means, but she could relax for now. Hearing noise coming from the living room, she got up and left the kitchen.

When she got there, Molly, Irene and Andrea were sitting around, laughing about something.

"Hey, baby! All done with your quiz?" Molly asked.

"Yeah. What's so funny?" Fi answered, taking a seat in an overstuffed armchair.

"Oh, your mother and I were talking about a gig we played in Tennessee once. She forgot the words to her own song!" Andrea said, causing all three women to erupt into laughter.

"Hey, it wasn't the last time that happened. Remember that gig where we ran into Ty Spencer? I've been performing In the Darkness for so many years now that it should be routine," Molly said, rolling her eyes at the memory. She still hadn't forgotten about reading the article before her show happened, but it was something she tried to keep at the back of her mind.

"Well, you haven't messed up since then," Fi commented, adjusting her position in the chair. Molly smiled.

"Hey, Ms. Davis, is there a place I could set up my laptop?" Fi asked.

"Oh, please, call me Andy. Yes, actually; there's a study upstairs, if you'd like to set up there," Andrea said, laughing. Fi thanked her and got up to go outside, but on her way to the door, she heard a crash and whirled around to see broken glass littering the floor. Her mouth fell open as the three women came running into the entryway of the house.

"Oh my…Oh, Andy, I'm sorry. Whatever she broke, I'll buy you a new one," Molly said anxiously.

"Don't worry about it, Mol. She broke a glass cat. Todd's mother gave that to us for our anniversary and, to tell you the truth, I'm glad it's broken. That thing was hideous!" Andrea reassured her, bursting into laughter. Fi, on the other hand, wasn't laughing.

"I didn't bump that shelf…" she said quietly, turning and leaving the house.

-X-

Upstairs in the study, Fi sat in a high-backed chair browsing the Internet for anything weird. As she clicked on a link, her eyes drifted to a framed photo that stood on the desk. She squinted against the glare created by the sun coming in through the window to see five people standing on a stage. On the right were Andy and who she assumed to be Todd, but her breath caught in her throat when she realized that the Phillips-Kane Band was standing right beside them. They all looked so happy, and even though she didn't know if she had even been alive when the picture was taken, it still hurt slightly to look at it.

"If you're looking at what I think you're looking at, that was the last show the PKB and Soft Spoken ever did together," came a voice from the doorway, and Fi looked up to see Andy standing in the doorway.

"Oh, sorry," Fi said.

"Don't worry about it. Your mother lost her copy of it, but I keep this one safe," Andy reassured her, walking over to the desk.

"So you toured with my mom and dad? What was it like?" Fi asked, tearing her attention away from her laptop to look at the older woman.

"Well, we were only on tour together for a few months, but Rick and Todd got along like best friends. Touring with your mom and dad was great, but then…well, your dad died," Andy said, sounding extremely sad. She reached over and picked up the picture, studying it with a sad nostalgia.

"Hey, do you think you could tell me stuff about my dad? Like from when you toured with him?" Fi inquired suddenly, causing Andy to set the picture back on the desk.

"Well, your dad was a great musician, and he and your mother were so happy…until a few months before the band stopped touring." Andy bit her lip.

"What do you mean?" Fi pressed.

"He seemed…distracted. I don't know how else to describe it. Your mother didn't seem too happy, either, but I figured they'd just hit a rough patch. You know how things can get on tour." Andy gave a weak chuckle at the end of her last statement. The chords Fi had played while using a medium to contact her father ran through her head as she thought of the man she'd never known. She'd come close in New York, but now that she was elsewhere, she felt farther from him than ever. All of a sudden, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"Is something wrong?" Andy asked, slightly concerned when she saw the shift in Fi's expression. As quickly as it had come, whatever had spooked Fi was gone.

"No, it's nothing," she said, still worried that what she'd just said might have been a lie.

-X-

After a wonderful homemade dinner, dessert, and numerous conversations, everyone turned in for the night. The big house was quiet with nobody awake, and a gentle breeze blew in through the open window of the bedroom Molly and Fi were sharing. Fi turned over in bed, but her sleep was restless.

Both sleepers' eyes shot open when they heard a loud crash.

"What was that?" Molly asked, her voice quiet.

"I don't know," Fi replied, squinting in the darkness for anything. Molly got out of bed and flipped the light switch on, revealing a nightstand that had originally been between the two beds broken on the floor in front of the opposite wall. It looked like someone had thrown it with a great amount of force, and the sight chilled Fi's blood. First the shelf, now this?

There was a knock at the door and Andy opened it.

"What happened?" she asked, surveying the damage.

"I don't know," Fi said, squinting when she saw the woman's face at the sight of the nightstand. She didn't seem shocked; rather, she seemed worried, like something weird was going on. Andy walked over to the fallen furniture and picked it up.

"I'll take care of this. You two get back to sleep," she ordered, turning the light off as she left. Molly and Fi, however, took a bit to do as they'd been told.

-X-

"Is everything ready? Good. Now, be good for Andy and try not to break anything else, okay?" Molly asked Fi, kissing her daughter on the forehead.

"Mom, I'm 14. I think I can take care of myself," Fi replied, squirming under her mother's inquisitive glare.

"Watch your sister," Molly said, kissing Jack as well. "Bye!"

They all got on the bus and drove off, leaving Fi, Jack, and Carey with Andy.

"Well now, who wants lunch?" Andy asked cheerfully.

-X-

_Muintir_.

The word unlocked Fi's virtual diary and she began to type.

_We're at someone's house and some strange stuff is going on. A shelf moved on its own and the nightstand in our room threw itself against the wall. Could it be a ghost trying to tell us something? I always thought that ghosts couldn't actually do anything, but I've got to research this more._

She clicked "SAVE" and looked up just in time to hear a crash and a yell from the living room. Getting up, she ran out of the room and down the stairs to see Carey, wincing in pain and holding his injured leg.

"Carey, what happened?" she asked, kneeling beside him.

"I don't know…I was resting my foot on that ottoman and it just flew out from under me!" he said, grimacing. She looked over and saw that the ottoman had overturned a chair; it reminded her exactly of the nightstand.

"Here, I'll go get a stool or something," she said, getting up and turning around to see Andy standing in the doorway.

"Don't worry about it. I have a stepstool in the guest bedroom," the woman said, disappearing from view and returning, stool in hand. Fi helped to prop Carey's leg up on it, but she couldn't shake the feeling that Andy knew more than she let on about the weird things that had been happening. She resolved to ask her about it later.

-X-

Fi walked into the kitchen, seeing Andy stirring something in a bowl.

"Oh, hey, Fi! I thought you'd be off on your laptop," Andy remarked, chuckling.

"Actually, I was wondering if you knew anything about what was going on around here," Fi said, taking a seat on a chair at the kitchen table. The older woman averted her gaze and pretended to be more interested in the floor tiles.

"What do you mean?" she asked, setting the bowl down on the counter and looking over at the girl.

"Well, things flying across the room, stuff breaking...it seems like you'd notice that sort of thing if it went on, right?" Fi asked, trying to catch Andy's gaze.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about," she said finally, picking the bowl up again.

"Andy, this thing, whatever it is, is violent. It already hurt Carey and it could hurt the rest of us," Fi countered, almost causing Andy to drop the bowl.

"I don't know what it is." Andy bowed her head as her voice got quieter.

"How long has it been here?" Fi's fingers dug into the kitchen table.

"A month." The response stunned her.

"Wait, it's been here for a month and you invited us over? Weren't you worried about us getting hurt?" Indignation crept into her voice.

"I didn't think anything was going to happen! I mean, there was only a handful of times where something strange happened, but it seems like that got worse when you all got here." Andy's words gave Fi pause. Why was that the case?

"Didn't you try to find a way to get rid of it?" Fi asked.

"I did, but I couldn't find anything that would help. I don't even know what it is," Andy replied, her expression falling.

"Okay. All that matters is that we find out what it is and how to stop it before something really bad happens. Let me do some research and see what I can find," Fi said, her slight indignation vanishing as she got up and made her way to the study.

-X-

Fi stared intensely at her laptop's screen, trying to find any bit of helpful information.

"Ghosts…ghosts…" she murmured, typing terms into the search bar.

GHOSTS VIOLENT MOVING

Biting her lip, she added another term.

GHOSTS VIOLENT MOVING FURNITURE

Her eyes widened when she read the results that came up.

"Poltergeists?" She clicked the first article.

_Poltergeists are spirit manifestations that can affect the mortal plane. They are violent, often throwing furniture across rooms or causing harm to people. Although we don't know why they haunt certain places, we do know that…_

The screen went black as her laptop lifted into the air, and she lurched forward to grab onto it. An invisible force pulled it away, and she dug her feet into the floor to get a better grip, struggling to get it back. One final wrench backward had her and the computer tumbling to the ground, leaving her in shock.

-X-

"So, did you find anything?" Andy asked hopefully, and Fi set her laptop down on the kitchen table.

"It seems like it doesn't want me to know anything about it. It tried to take my laptop before I could read anything," she said, and Andy's hopeful smile fell.

"I did find out what's haunting you, though…a poltergeist." Fi's new answer caused her smile to return slightly.

"Okay, you're going to have to explain that to someone who isn't used to dealing with this sort of thing." Andy took a seat at the table across from Fi.

"Well, it said that poltergeists are violent spirits that can affect things in our physical plane," Fi explained, calling the article she'd barely gotten the chance to read to memory.

"So why's it here? Did I do something to provoke it?" Andy became concerned.

"It also said that they don't know why poltergeists haunt certain places," Fi added, and Andy let out a sigh.

"What am I going to do?" the musician mused despondently.

-X-

_Great. I'm stuck in Arkansas watching my sister while my mom's away in Tennessee._

Jack sat in the back of the house on a porch swing that was gently rocking back and forth. As much as he would have liked to go with his mom to Memphis, he knew that he wouldn't have felt comfortable leaving Fi in Little Rock; it wouldn't have felt _right_. He didn't know why and he didn't think he ever would, but he figured that it was a big brother thing.

As the swing continued to move, he felt himself being lulled to sleep. It didn't make any sense, as he'd gotten enough sleep the night before, but before he knew it, his eyes were closed and he was drifting off.

-X-

"_Is something wrong?"_

_He turned around, seeing a woman wearing an elegant green dress standing in the entryway to the room. Sighing, he took one more look out the window behind him before crossing the room to her._

"_I…do not know," he said, seeing her features go soft with a small smile. The air in the room around them seemed thick somehow, and the stone walls did nothing to keep the night's chill from entering. The fire roaring in the large fireplace recessed into the wall helped slightly._

"_You do not know? Or do not want to tell me?" she asked, her smile becoming more knowing. He sighed again._

"_I think it might be both." His answer didn't satisfy her question, and this was apparent on her face._

"_Henry tells me you both saw something on your way back here," she said, her smile vanishing. He avoided her gaze momentarily._

"_What exactly did Henry tell you that we saw?"_

"_He could not properly describe it to me…at least, not enough for me to have any idea what he was speaking of. He mentioned something about a light, but he also told me that it scared both of you."_

"_We saw nothing!" His face set in an expression that mirrored this sentiment._

"_You have seen the life disappear from a man's eyes and have not drawn back in fear, but you see something that can scare you so? It sounds to me like you did not see nothing," she said, a hint of anger in her voice._

"_I do not wish to discuss this with you." His voice became angry as well._

"_Very well. I will not force you to speak to me of what you saw, although I am only concerned for your well-being," she said, walking over to him and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. He watched as she turned and left the room, leaving him alone once again._

-X-

Jack's eyes opened slowly and he realized that he'd fallen asleep, but he was more concerned with the dream he'd had during his nap. Normally, he knew he was dreaming when he woke up, but he didn't feel like that now, despite the fact that he consciously knew he'd dreamt. It had been more vivid than any dream he could remember having, but he was more bothered by the fact that nothing in it related to anything about him. Usually, he could pinpoint one thing that stemmed from something in his life, but that hadn't been the case.

"Come on, Jack, it was just a dream," he said aloud, feeling better as soon as he said those words. He'd drifted off to sleep and dreamt about something weird; that was it. Getting up from the porch swing, he went inside to go see what Carey was up to.

-X-

Carey sat on the living room couch, fast asleep. Having a broken ankle had put a damper on everything, and now he was forced to sit around and do nothing. Boredom had caught up to him.

Jack entered the room and stopped when he saw the guitar player, a mischievous smile growing on his face as he got an idea. He tried as hard as he could to stay quiet as he walked over to the couch, and then leaned forward until his face was inches away from Carey's; close enough to hear soft breaths.

"Carey," he said quickly in a hushed voice, and it didn't take long for something to happen. Carey's eyes shot open, and after a second, let out a yell of surprise. Jack stumbled backwards, caught off-guard by the reaction; however, he caught himself at the last second just before he was about to fall.

"Dude, you scared the crap out of me!" Carey said, breathing heavily. Jack laughed, amused.

"That's not funny." Carey glared at the brunette.

"Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to ask you something," Jack said, still chuckling.

"What's up?" Carey asked, calm now.

"Well…have you ever had a weird dream?" Jack replied, taking a seat in an armchair.

"_All_ of my dreams are weird. That's how dreams are," Carey answered, looking at Jack like he was crazy.

"That's not what I'm talking about. Have you ever had a dream that…didn't seem like it was yours? Like, nothing in the dream related to anything in your life?" Jack felt ridiculous asking the question.

"I can't say that I have. Why, did you?" Carey raised an eyebrow.

"I think so. I dozed off on the porch and had a weird dream about some guy and a woman talking about a light or something, and I don't think they were even speaking English…well, not any English I've heard," Jack explained.

"Maybe Fi's weirdness is rubbing off on you," Carey joked, laughing.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Jack agreed, chuckling weakly. As much as he was trying to convince himself that it was just a fluke, he didn't know that he could…at least, not completely.

-X-

Fi sat in the study again, trying to search for something that might help; however, this was incredibly difficult as every time she tried to do a direct search for poltergeists, she got the sense that her laptop would get taken away again.

"How can I find anything if it won't let me?" she said aloud, frustrated. As she sat there, she started to think of anything she could do to outwit an invisible entity that seemed to be extremely intelligent as well.

"Wait a second…" She looked up as she got an idea, but she couldn't do anything where she was. Unplugging her laptop from its charger cord, she ran out of the room and down the stairs, trying to find Andy. She ran into Jack in the kitchen.

"Jack, have you seen Andy?" she asked, her voice urgent.

"She's in the laundry room," he answered, pointing to a doorway.

"Thanks," she said hurriedly and ran into the laundry room, where the older woman was folding some sheets.

"Hey, Andy, I have a question. Has anything strange happened to you outside of the house?" Her words came out all at once, surprising Andy.

"Actually, now that I think about it, no," Andy said, looking upwards pensively.

"Okay. I think I might be able to find a way to get rid of this thing." Without another word, Fi turned around and ran through the house toward the front door.

-X-

Across the street from Andy's house, Fi sat down by a tree and opened her Internet browser, taking a deep breath and typing in "POLTERGEISTS." When nothing happened, she clicked search and braced herself. The results page popped up and she clicked on the link to the article she'd read before, relieved when her laptop stayed right where it was.

_Poltergeists are spirit manifestations that can affect the mortal plane. They are violent, often throwing furniture across rooms or causing harm to people. Although we don't know why they haunt certain places, we do know that these spirits are tied to a person. The reason for this is unknown._

_If tormented by a poltergeist, the person it is tied to can banish it by simply gathering up the force of will to do so._

"That's it!" she said triumphantly, but her joy quickly vanished as she got the sense that something was very wrong.

"Andy…" she said, closing her laptop and running across the street as soon as it was safe. When she got to the front door, she heard something that froze her blood: screaming. She ran through the house, trying to locate its source. In the kitchen, she saw Jack looking around wildly.

"What happened?" she asked, her heart racing.

"I don't know! Andy's locked in the laundry room," he said, still looking for something. She ran past her brother to the laundry room door, where she was almost floored by the overwhelming realization that Andy was trapped by the poltergeist.

"Andy!" she yelled, pounding on the door. Through it, she could hear loud noises and more screaming, and it sounded like Andy was in trouble.

-X-

Bottles of laundry detergent hurled themselves at Andy, who dodged them just in time. The door wouldn't open and every time she tried to go near it, things flew at her.

"Fi! Help!" she called, hearing the girl's voice on the other side of the door. Fear flooded her when she saw her washer start to rock back and forth, making loud metallic clangs. Violently, it tipped over, and she screamed again.

"Andy! I found out how to get rid of it! You have to make it go away!" She heard what Fi said, but she wasn't sure what it meant. _She_ had to get rid of it?

"How?" she yelled, dodging a shelf as it tore away from the wall and hit the wall near her head.

"You have to gather the force of will to banish it!" came the reply, and it only served to confuse her even more. It didn't make sense, but she had to get rid of this thing before it seriously hurt her.

"Go away," she said quietly, trying to calm her fear. She jumped when the fallen washer slid across the floor.

"Go away," she said louder, still extremely afraid. How could someone like her banish something like a poltergeist?

"Go away!" Her voice was gaining conviction, but she was still afraid. Suddenly, she thought of Todd. This thing hadn't shown up until he left, but what if it was still here when he came back? What if it hurt him? She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, using the image of her husband in her head to gather strength.

"GO AWAY!" Her words seemed to come alive, resounding through the laundry room. She was blown backwards into the wall, but when she opened her eyes, everything felt different. The evil presence she'd felt ever since the poltergeist had arrived was gone, and all the damage it had caused in the laundry room had been repaired. She tried to calm her heart as Fi opened the door, looking fearful.

"I think it's gone," Andy said, smiling weakly.

-X-

The next day, Andy found Fi in the study again, doing something on her laptop.

"Hey. I just wanted to say thanks for helping me get rid of that thing," she said, smiling at the girl.

"Oh, it was no problem. I still can't figure out why it was tied to you, though," Fi remarked, looking up from the screen.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter now," she said, laughing. The last few weeks had been scary, but she'd felt a lot better ever since the poltergeist had been banished. As an afterthought, she asked, "But how did you know it was tied to me?"

"Well, I remembered you saying that it had been here for a month, but I also remembered that Todd had been gone for that long. You were the only one here it could have been tied to," Fi explained, and Andy nodded.

"Hey, do you remember when you asked me about your dad?" Fi looked suddenly interested.

"Well, I have something for you. We were playing a gig in South Carolina and your dad dropped something. I meant to give it back to him, but I forgot about it until now." Andy pulled out a folded piece of paper and slid it across the desk. Fi picked it up, almost not breathing as she opened it. The piece of paper looked like it had been torn out of a small notebook, except that it was missing the top left corner. On the blank space, it looked like her father had drawn something, but she had no idea what it was.

It looked like something akin to a piece of a donut that had been cut in four, except the sides weren't rounded. There were no notes telling her what it was, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was significant.

"Thanks," she said finally, folding the paper and putting it in her pocket. Andy nodded and left the room, leaving her alone.

What was the thing her father had drawn? Was it some sort of supernatural artifact? She resolved to find out, but knowing her, she would find out sooner or later.


	7. S3, E6: Hoodoo

**Season 3, Episode 6: Hoodoo**

_Ever since I found out that witch blood runs in my family, I've been fascinated by magic; I mean, how cool is it to say a spell and have something happen? Then you have the kinds of magic they practice in other parts of the world, like Louisiana. There are people there who practice a kind of magic called hoodoo; people who practice it can use spells and potions to do good things for people…or bad things; I guess it just depends on who's casting the spell. I have to wonder, though; why would someone use hoodoo to do bad things to someone else? Anger? Revenge? Jealousy?_

"Hey, I've been working on my Greek. Se epithimisa." Carey winced, holding the phone to his ear; however, he started beaming. "Really? Well, that's good to know. Okay, I'll talk to you later. Antio!"

"Wow, Carey, it's like Christmas for you every time you talk to Callee, isn't it?" Jack looked up from his hand of cards and raised an eyebrow at the older blonde.

"Hey, at least we're not paying for the international calls. I'm sure she can just charm the operator into connecting her for free…at least, if he's male." Fi's remark earned her a glare of daggers from Carey as he set the phone down, taking his seat next to Jack back.

"Yeah, and what about Ryan?" Carey stuck his tongue out at her. Fi wrinkled her nose and put a card down, but she jumped when she felt her ring start to resonate; immediately, she put her hand under the table just as Molly came back from the front of the bus.

"Irene just told me the best news. We've got a two night sold-out booking at Bayou Joe's starting the day after tomorrow!" She had the expression of someone who'd just won the lottery, and everyone else jumped out of their seats; cards went flying everywhere as Jack and Fi almost tackled her.

"Mom, that's the biggest club in New Orleans! How'd that happen?" Fi stepped back.

"Well, you know that club owner from Little Rock? He said that he felt so bad about changing our booking that he talked to a friend of his in New Orleans and got us a booking at the club. This is probably going to be our biggest show ever!" She, along with everyone else, started cheering again, and neither Molly nor Fi noticed that their rings were glowing again as the bus crossed state lines. In another two hours, after everyone settled down, they pulled up in front of Bayou Joe's.

"Well Irene, I don't think Evelyn could've gotten me booked here." Molly patted her manager on the shoulder as everyone stepped off the bus, looking up at the club that bore posters for the gig all over the outside.

"I'll make sure there's a marquee at the next venue you play." Irene nudged the singer and they both laughed, walking into the club. Everyone gasped as they caught sight of how spacious the interior was; a fully stocked bar occupied one wall, and a metal walkway ran around the outside of the room above their heads.

"This is probably the most awesome club I've ever played in." Molly closed her eyes for a minute, imagining how it would look filled with people, but a dark-skinned woman clearing her throat distracted her thoughts.

"Can I help you?" The woman raised an eyebrow, hand straying down to where her cell phone was holstered on her hip.

"Yes, I'm Molly Phillips; I'm playing a concert here." Molly smiled.

"Oh, Ms. Phillips! It is such a pleasure to have you here. I'm DeEtta Lawrence, the owner." The woman walked briskly over to them and shook Molly's hand.

"Actually, the pleasure is mine; I've never played a club this big before!"

"Yes, well, we needed a band to play and Joe called me just in time. You're saving my butt!" The woman laughed heartily. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go over the paperwork with you to make sure everything's in order."

"I think I can help with that. Irene Bell; we spoke on the phone." Irene stepped up and shook hands with DeEtta, walking away with her to a back room. Jack and Carey had wandered off to check out the club more, but Fi put a hand on her mother's shoulder to stop her from walking away to find them.

"What is it, baby?" Molly turned to face her daughter.

"You look like something's been bugging you." Fi crossed her arms.

"What are you talking about? I'm just really excited to be playing this club!"

"No, I'm talking about the kind of thing that was bugging you in New York."

Molly's smile faded. "Baby, there is nothing bugging me. I just…I've been having some problems with a song. Ever since we got here, I've had this burst of inspiration but I can't get it out in words _or_ music." Her shoulders slumped.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You have two days to write your song; you'll get it." Fi put a hand on her mother's shoulder and smiled, making Molly laugh.

"Well, thanks for your concern. I've got to go get some stuff out of the bus." Molly gave a half-smile and walked away, but Fi bit her lip as she stood there, watching her mother leave. She turned to look at her computer as it let out a chime, and she ran over to it as soon as she saw the familiar "Mail" icon. Clicking on it, she gasped and opened the reply window.

"So, what kind of weirdo are you e-mailing now?" Jack asked, breaking her focus and earning him a glare.

"For your information, Captain Dorkus, I'm e-mailing a friend who lives here in New Orleans. She really wanted to meet me and talk about—"

"Weird stuff? As if we need more of _that_ in our family. Carey and I are going to do a homework assignment about the history of food in Louisiana." Jack rolled his eyes.

"I take it that's Jack-speak for 'Ned wants us to do a history assignment so we're going to go eat and _say_ it's homework?'" Fi raised an eyebrow.

"Fine. You can stay here and be weird while Carey and I go do our homework." Her brother walked away, allowing her to do what he'd interrupted.

_Sally –_

_We just got to Bayou Joe's and it is AMAZING! Feel free to come around the club today; I'll be here._

_- Fi_

She clicked SEND just in time to hear the band fire up, playing _She Sells_. Fi bobbed her head in time with the music and closed her computer, trying to figure out if she could find a creative way out of her history paper; it came in the form of her ring glowing again. She covered it with her other hand and looked up on stage, trying to squint past the stage lights.

"Worried about your mom?" Carey's voice out of nowhere made her jump. She briefly glared at him and turned her attention back to the stage.

"I guess so. She hasn't really been okay since we left New York." Fi crossed her arms.

"Can you blame her? She was really scared."

"No, I can't, but I still think that there's something else bothering her."

"Aside from her only daughter dangling from the edge of a skyscraper roof?"

"You know what I mean. Something weird."

"Fi, the only weird thing Molly's worried about is you." She scowled at him.

"You're not helping." He laughed as he ambled away, seeing Jack doing the same thing. She sighed and shook her head, pausing when her muscles tensed. Turning around, she saw a dark-skinned girl looking around.

"Can I help you?" The girl stopped.

"Oh, I'm looking for Fi? I'm Sally." She bit her lip, but Fi smiled.

"Actually, you're in luck. I'm Fi." Sally briskly walked forward, beaming, and threw her arms around Fi.

"It's so good to finally meet you! I was really excited when I saw that your mom was playing here." She stepped back.

"Yeah, she was pretty excited too. This is a really big deal for her."

"I guess so. Have you had a chance to look around the city yet?"

"We just got here, so we're still taking care of stuff."

"Well, come by my mom's salon; _Hair by Nola_. It's about three blocks from here. My mom was so excited when she heard that you were coming that she wanted to give you a big surprise."

"I'm sure I can convince her." Fi laughed. "Would you mind if we brought our friend, Irene?"

"Hey, any friend of yours is a friend of ours. I have to go do some homework, but I hope I'll see you there!" Sally turned on her heel and walked out, leaving Fi to look around for her mother. When she found Molly, the musician thought it was an excellent idea, and she rounded up Irene before whisking everyone away to the salon. They found it with no problem, and a bell rang to signal their entry. A dark-skinned woman came up to them, beaming.

"Sally told me you were coming, but I'd recognize you anywhere, Molly Phillips!" She stepped forward and robustly embraced Molly, who looked taken aback but pleasantly surprised.

"I had no idea I was that famous." Molly chuckled.

"Oh, I recognize you from the posters they've been plastering around town! But where are my manners. I'm Nola."

"It's great to meet you. This is my manager, Irene, and my daughter, Fiona." Nola hugged each of them in turn.

"When Sally told me that she'd been talking to Fiona Phillips, I just had to meet you. Everyone's been so excited for your show! I've never gotten the chance to meet a rockstar, so I'm going to give you the rockstar treatment; manicures, pedicures, facials, the works, and I won't take no for an answer."

A surprised smile lit up everyone else's faces. "I don't think I could say no if I tried!" Molly laughed.

"Where's Sally? I'd love for her to meet my mom." Fi looked around.

"She was just here a minute ago…oh, Miss Lague! Molly Phillips is here!" Nola walked over to a woman sitting in one of the chairs, and Miss Lague let out a "harrumph."

"You make it sound like she's Louis Armstrong come back to life. You cut my hair too short."

Nola glared at the woman. "Your hair is fine. It's not every day a rockstar comes in here. Hush. Well, let's get started!" Before she could seat them in chairs, Miss Lague started squirming and when she looked down to see what the problem was, her eyes shot open and she let out an ear-shattering scream. Jumping out of her chair, she stared running wildly around the salon, frantically trying to brush something off of her. Molly, Fi, and Irene all tensed; they didn't see any tarantulas anywhere. Nola ran to her. "What's wrong!"

"Tarantulas! All over me!" The panicked woman ran out of the shop and everyone followed her until she stopped in front of a house where a dark-skinned woman was watering flowers in a planter on her front porch. "Olivia Grange, this is your work! You've crossed me!" Enraged, she stormed off, but Olivia simply looked at her and went back to watering her flowers. Fi stood there looking at the woman until a tap on her shoulder made her jump.

"Oh my…Sally! You scared me!" She put a hand on her chest to calm her heart.

"Sorry about that. Why was Miss Lague yelling at Miss Grange?" Sally looked over to the woman on the porch.

"I don't know, actually. We were in the salon and she started screaming about tarantulas. She said something about being crossed?" Fi's brow knit and Sally's face fell.

"Oh, no. Miss Grange crossed her?" Sally started to walk away and Fi followed her, but not before casting one last glance at Olivia.

"Crossed? What does that mean?"

"It's another word for cursed. Miss Grange is a hoodoo woman."

"Hoodoo? Like, voodoo?"

Sally shook her head. "No, a lot of people get the two confused. Voodoo is a religion with God and the Devil; everyone thinks that voodoo priests use dolls to curse people, but they don't. Hoodoo is folk magic. You can use it to help people or cross them, depending on what they did."

"What happens when someone gets crossed?"

"You never know. A lot of it has to do with who's doing the crossing; a lot of hoodoo doctors will prey on the fears of the people they're crossing to really get to them."

"Wow. It sounds like hoodoo's really dangerous."

"Yeah, that's why it's pretty bad to have someone like Miss Grange mad at you. So I've got to go home to finish some homework, but you should go back to the salon. My mom was really excited to take care of y'all, and in Louisiana, it's rude to turn down a gift from your hosts." Sally winked.

Fi laughed. "Okay, okay. It's not like we could have turned all of that down anyway."

"Okay, I'll see you later!" Sally walked away and Fi went back from the salon, thinking about the incident with Miss Lague the entire time.

-X-

After a full pampering session and some sightseeing around town, everyone turned in to their rooms at the Inn on Bourbon, a somewhat upscale hotel on Bourbon Street. Molly walked into the room she and Fi were sharing and turned off the light.

"Goodnight, sweetie." She paused to kiss her daughter on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Mom." Fi closed her laptop and slid under the covers and, before too long, both women were fast asleep.

The air in the room began to shift, and so did Fi and Molly; beads of sweat appeared on their brows, and their movements became more frequent as they kicked off their blankets to relieve the growing heat in the room. Both of them began to breathe faster and suddenly, they awoke and shot straight up in bed when they realized that fire had sprung up at the feet of their beds.

"Mom!" Fi scrambled over and got into Molly's bed, and both of them started screaming as the inferno consumed their rooms. In a moment of lucidity in her panic, Fi noticed that both of their rings were glowing with a light tinged with red, but the fire catching the bedposts brought her crashing back into the reality that they were going to burn to death. Their screams became ear-shattering when the comforter caught, and Fi closed her eyes to brace herself for the intense pain of burning alive; her eyes opened, however, when the noise of the blaze stopped and the vision of death she'd been experiencing only seconds before was replaced by a perfectly normal hotel room that was now occupied with everyone else from the bus.

"What's wrong!" Jack's muscles were tense as he looked around the room.

"The room was on fire!" Both Molly and Fi's hearts were beating like jackhammers; the reality that the room was completely untouched by fire hadn't set in yet.

"On fire? I think you were just having a bad dream." Carey shifted to get a better grip on the doorframe.

"Yeah…a bad dream…" Fi trailed off, still trying to figure out what had just gone on.

-X-

Fi's eyes fluttered open and closed as she perused posts on her website in the club while her mom rehearsed, and she shook her head to wake herself up. Whether or not the fire in her room the night before had been a bad dream or not, it had felt very, very real, and she'd been shaken; almost as much as the tree almost killing her back in Hope Springs. She looked up when someone came into the club, and she smiled as best she could when she saw it was Sally.

"Hey, Fi! Whoa, you look…bad. What happened?" The girl took a seat at the table across from her.

"I didn't get much sleep last night. I had…well, I think I had a really, really bad dream."

"What kind of bad dream?"

"This sounds really stupid, but I dreamed that my room was on fire, but…"

"But what?"

"It felt so…_real_. I…I thought I was going to die."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Fi. I hope you can sleep better tonight."

"It was really weird, though, because my Mom had the exact same dream."

Sally paused. "Really? Well, I'm no hoodoo woman, but I made something for you. Kinda like a souvenir of your stay here." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wooden disk with an intricate design carved on it.

Fi gasped and took it. "Wow! What is this?"

"It's supposed to be a charm, but I don't know if it'll work. It's supposed to bring you good luck."

"Thanks, Sally! It's really cool!"

"You're welcome. Hey, I have to go to the store with my mom, but do you think we could hang out later?"

"Sure! I'll probably be at my hotel later, so just swing by there."

"Okay! Bye, Fi!" Sally got up and left and when she did, Jack came over.

"Hey, I'm going to go look at some tourist spots. Do you want to come?"

Fi thought for a moment. "Sure. Maybe it'll get my mind off of this whole nightmare business." She got up and left with the boys.

Their first stop was a souvenir store, which had an array of both good and bad New Orleans memorabilia.

"Hey, look! Postcards!" Fi walked over to a rack and started admiring the pictures on them. "Do you think Grandma Kathleen would like this one?" She held up a postcard for Jack to see, but when he walked over, it flew out of her hands and behind a table onto a chair. Sighing, she leaned over the table to get it.

-X-

Molly walked onstage, looking just as worn out as her daughter. It seemed strange to her that she and Fi had had the same dream, but it had felt so…real. She'd been so shaken up by it that she hadn't gotten back to sleep, and now, the last thing she felt like doing was rehearsals for tomorrow's show, but she had to rehearse; she was getting paid quite a bit to perform, and the club manager from Little Rock had stuck his neck out to get her a gig here, so she'd perform whether she wanted to or not. She still hadn't managed to figure out the lyrics to the song she'd been trying to write, even though she'd written a melody for it, and with last night, she had a lot to deal with.

"Is everything okay, Mrs. P?" Carey raised an eyebrow as he picked his guitar up.

"I'm fine, really." She threw him a weak smile and reached for the microphone, but when she took it off of the stand and rolled off of the stage to rest on the floor. "Shoot." Sighing, she knelt down to grab for it.

-X-

When both Molly and Fi leaned forward, their eyes shot open when they realized that they couldn't breathe. They struggled, but it felt like someone was holding their heads underwater. Just when they thought they were going to black out, they were let go and came back up.

-X-

Jack ran over to his sister, holding her up as she struggled to stay on her feet.

"Fi, what's wrong?"

"I…I don't know! It felt like I was underwater!"

"But…you weren't. You were just going to get that postcard."

"Jack, I think someone's crossed me."

"Crossed you? What are you talking about?"

"Cursed me."

"You think someone put a curse on you?"

"Yes! I…I need to go." Fi ran out of the shop and, after letting out a frustrated sigh, Jack followed her. They both ran back to the club, and before she could stop herself, she ran into Carey, who fell to the floor. "Oh my…Carey, I'm so sorry!" She helped him up.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"I've got to do some research. Something really weird is going on here." Fi snatched her laptop from the table.

"Now that you mention it, something weird happened with your mom."

Fi stopped dead in her tracks. "Wait, what? What happened to my mom?"

"Actually, I'm not sure. It looked like she couldn't breathe, but she wasn't choking…I'm not too sure what happened."

Without another word, Fi ran to the stage where her mom was sitting on the edge, pen poised over a notepad. "Mom! Carey said something happened!"

Molly set the pad down. "Oh, yeah, it was nothing. I think the stress of figuring out this song is getting to me. I think I just had a little panic attack or something."

"Mom, did it feel like you were underwater?"

Molly's eyes went wide before she regained her composure. "Well, yeah, kinda, but it was over before I knew it. Like I said, I think it's stress—"

"It's not stress! I think that someone's crossing us!"

Molly's brow knit. "Crossed? What are you talking about?"

"It's a curse; a hoodoo curse. Someone put a spell on us and it's doing bad things!"

"Baby, a spell? I think—"

"I think I need to put a stop to this before someone gets hurt!" She ran off, leaving Molly extremely confused.

"Wait a second, did she say…voodoo? That's it!" Excitedly, she scribbled down lyrics on the notepad.

-X-

Fi ran down the block after putting her laptop in the bus. She'd realized that she didn't need to do any research; she knew exactly what was going on. Miss Grange was crossing her, and somehow Molly as well, but why? Had she done something wrong? She skidded to a stop in front of Miss Grange's house and paused for a minute before walking up to the front door and knocking. Nobody answered, but when she knocked again, the door creaked open.

"Hello?" When nobody still answered, she bit her lip before walking in. She stopped when she saw a line of red dust just inside the door and, even though her intuition was screaming to get out, she took a few cautious steps forward. A scream tore itself from her throat when Miss Grange stepped in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" The older woman crossed her arms.

"I…I'm sorry for coming into your house like this, but you're crossing me! Why are you doing this?"

"You think I'm crossing you?" Miss Grange sighed. "Come." Furious, Fi followed her and sat down at the kitchen table when Miss Grange gestured. "So, you've been crossed. What has happened to you?"

"What are you talking about? You know what's happening because you're crossing me!"

"Do you know how hoodoo works?"

"Why would that matter? All I care about is that you're hurting my mom and me!"

"It matters. Hoodoo is an odd form of magic; it's psychosomatic. It only works if you believe. I take it that since you think you've been crossed, you believe. Wait…I sense…something about you. You're different than others. I can imagine someone wouldn't need to convince you that hoodoo is real because you already believe."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Someone who practices hoodoo needs to work closely with someone they're trying to cross. To truly affect their victim, they need personal items."

"Personal items? But…" A sense of dread filled Fi. If Miss Grange wasn't crossing her, then someone else who had the opportunity was. "What kind of personal items?"

"To be most effective, they have to come from the person. Fingernails, hair—"

"Hair!" It all made sense. Someone from the salon must have used her hair to cross her! Another thought made her pause. "Could you tell me what this is? My friend gave it to me." She pulled out the carving Sally had made from her and slid it across the table.

Miss Grange picked it up and looked at it. "Whoever gave this to you is no friend. Sometimes, a hoodoo man or woman can use talismans like this one to strengthen their spells."

"Oh, no." The bottom of Fi's stomach dropped out when she came to the realization that it had been Sally crossing her all along, not Miss Grange. "I…I'm so sorry for accusing you. It's someone else."

"Then you'd better stop them before they do something really dangerous."

"I will." Fi got up from the table, but paused. "Hey, what was that red dust by your door?"

"It's brick dust. It keeps away those who wish to harm you."

"Thank you." With that, Fi ran out of the kitchen and back to the street, making her way straight to Hair by Nola. She burst through the door, startling Nola.

"Fiona! It's good to see you again!" She beamed.

"I wish I had time to talk, Nola, but I really need to find Sally. Do you know where she is?"

"Well, yes, I think she's at home doing some homework. We live a down the street on the corner in the red house."

"Thanks, Nola." She smiled at the woman before running out of the shop to where Nola had told her the house was. Without hesitation, she ran up the front steps and opened the door, which, surprisingly, was unlocked. She didn't even know where to begin, but something was telling her to go upstairs, and she did. She was faced with a hallway, and she was drawn to a door at the end. Wouldn't Sally be in her bedroom if she was doing homework? She inhaled sharply when she realized that every time Sally said she was doing "homework," she was probably working a spell to cast, so she probably wasn't in her room. Going to the end of the hallway, she opened the door to find a set of stairs leading up, and when she got to the top, she gasped when she saw Sally sitting at a low table, focused on something. "So, are you casting another spell on me?"

The other girl looked up from whatever she was doing in shock. "Fi! What are you doing here? I was just—"

"Just what? Don't try lying to me! I know you're the one who crossed me and my mom!"

"Your mom? But I only meant it for you; I didn't even take her hair." Sally frowned.

"I don't care who you meant it for! You were casting spells on me! Why!"

"I…I was jealous of you, okay! You see so many things that I could never imagine, and you post all about it on your website…but you know what? I can't have you going and telling Miss Grange that I was the one crossing you…" Glancing at the table, her hand went for a sprig of herbs; looking around frantically, Fi spotted a jar full of red dust sitting on a trunk. In a second that seemed like minutes, she ran for it and made a line that separated her and Sally just as the other girl put the herbs into a smoking pot.

"Oh, so you've figured out some hoodoo. Good for you. That won't stop my spell." Sally smiled triumphantly, but it faded. "Why isn't it working?"

"Probably because you need me to have that talisman you gave me." Fi gave a triumphant smile back.

"Fine, but once I get your hair…oh no! It's in my room!" Sally gave a dismayed look to the line of brick dust she wouldn't be able to cross.

"Sally, why are you jealous of me? Because I get to see ghosts and werewolves? Well, you know what? Not everything I've seen is cool. My brother's been possessed by an evil spirit, and there are more evil spirits that want to kill me because of my gift! There are times that I wish I didn't run into all of this stuff, but I can't help it. You don't want what I have, trust me."

Sally looked at the floor and when she looked back up, tears were streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, Fi. I was so jealous…I didn't think about what I was doing!"

Fi sighed. "Look, Sally, using magic like that is…it's not okay, and I don't think I can ever forgive you doing what you did, but…if you swear that you'll never do magic on me or anyone else again, I won't tell Miss Grange it was you."

"Done. If you let me out of here, I'll give you the hair I collected so I can't cast any more spells on you, and I swear I'll never cross anyone again." They locked eyes and Fi bit her lip.

"Okay. I'll let you out." Fi stepped forward to the line of brick dust and broke it with her foot; Sally hesitantly approached it and stepped over it, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Come with me." Sally led Fi down the attic stairs and into her bedroom, where she picked up a lock of brown hair and handed it to Fi. "Fi…I'm so sorry."

Taking a deep breath, Fi looked at her and turned, walking out of the room and leaving her to cry, alone. The front door slammed and she went back into the attic, crossed the brick dust line again, and began to put her spell supplies back into the trunk.

_Sally_.

She looked up, but didn't see anyone. "Hello?"

_Sally!_

As she scanned the attic, her eyes came to rest on a standing mirror that seemed to shimmer. She came up to it and paused.

"Hello, Sally." Her reflection speaking startled her.

"Who are you?"

"Who I am isn't important. I'm here to tell you that Fi was lying to you."

"Lying to me? What do you mean? She told me that—"

"Of course she told you that her family was being attacked by evil spirits. That was a lie so you wouldn't want her gift anymore. She's seen amazing things; she's even been able to talk to her dead father." Her reflection crossed its arms.

"She's…talked to her dead father?"

"Yes. How fair is it that she gets to talk to her father and you never get to speak to yours again? If you had her gift, you could."

"But how could I get her gift?"

"We can give you the power." Mirror Sally put its hand up and, after a few moments of deliberation, Sally touched the mirror with her palm. The mirror shook violently and Mirror Sally disappeared as Sally's eyes glowed red.

-X-

For Fi, the night and next day passed without incident and before anyone knew it, it was time for Molly's big show. Fi sat backstage while her mother got ready, rereading the lyrics of the song she'd finally managed to write, even though she had them down pat. Fi had managed to reassure her that they wouldn't be having any more nightmares or stress attacks, but she was still worried that something might happen. She did trust Sally, but her intuition was telling her that she wasn't out of danger just yet.

"Good luck, Mom." Fi smiled at Molly.

"Thanks, baby. I'm so nervous!" Molly bit her lip, a nervous smile on her face.

"Don't worry, mom. You've killed every gig you've ever played. How's this one any different?" Jack put a hand on her shoulder, relaxing her smile.

"Thanks, kiddo. I gotta go." With a deep breath, Molly walked through the curtains to cheers and applause. It was a little overwhelming to play a show this big, but she closed her eyes, took another breath, and stepped up to the microphone. "Thanks for coming out, Bayou Joe's! Let's get this started!" With that, the band launched into In the Darkness, making the crowd go wild.

Fi, watching through the curtains, smiled as her mom settled into her stage presence and turned around, going for her laptop. She'd been researching hoodoo all day; it seemed paranoid now that the immediate threat was gone, but she'd gone to a hardware store and bought some brick dust. It was amazing how something so simple could provide such powerful protection magic, but she figured that it might come in handy sometime.

When In the Darkness finished the band played a few more of Molly's classic songs; when they were finished, Fi's ears perked up (figuratively, of course; she wasn't a dog…again) when she heard her mom say that she was going to do a new song. She was impressed when she heard a smooth blues-type sound coming from the stage, but her ring glowing again distracted her; dread filled her when she noticed that it was the same reddish glow she'd seen when her room had "caught fire." Suddenly, she was jerked away from her laptop by an unseen force; she managed to grab her laptop bag with the jar of brick dust before her feet carried her off. She grunted as she tried to fight, but whatever had control of her body was too strong; before she knew it, she was climbing a staircase and ladder to the roof of the club. When she saw Sally standing there, it felt like a punch in the stomach; with a gesture, the girl had her walking forward.

"Sally! What are you doing!" She staggered to a stop.

-X-

The band launched into the new song and Molly took the microphone.

_Well I can't sleep at night_

_and my days are like a dream_

_I feel you holding me tight_

As soon as she sang those words, her body tensed up and she began walking toward the edge of the stage, as if something else was controlling her. What was going on! She noticed that her ring was glowing, and this wasn't the first time this had happened since they'd gotten to New Orleans…or ever, really. Usually, the light was comforting, but this time, the glow seemed…evil. She had to keep singing.

_I try to run but I, I can't fight_…

-X-

"You lied to me, Fiona." Sally crossed her arms, still keeping Fi in the thrall of her magic.

"I lied to you! How! Nothing I told you was a lie!" Fi kept trying to fight the magic.

"You never told me you got to speak to your father!"

Fi fought back immense sadness. "I've only talked to him once after he saved me from the evil spirits! He died before I was born because they took him from me!" She spit the last few words of the sentence at Sally like barbs.

"No matter. I'm going to get your gift so I can talk to my father."

"What! How are you going to do that!"

"By killing you." A wicked grin dominated Sally's face as she raised a hand that glowed with red energy. Fi screamed as she was pulled off of her feet and yanked backwards; she managed to grab onto an air duct, but when she looked back, a giant vortex was threatening to swallow her into oblivion.

-X-

The song went on, but Molly almost fell to her knees when Bayou Joe's vanished and was replaced by an endless sky; she was standing on a cliff over an abyss that was calling to her, drawing her in. Somehow, though, she managed to keep singing.

_Tell me,_

_What you do, what you do_

_with your voodoo_

_What you do_

_with a spell on me?_

_What you do, what you do_

_with your voodoo_

_What you doing to me?_

-X-

"Sally! No!" Fi struggled to keep her grip on the metal duct, but she was losing the battle.

"Your gift will be mine, Fiona." Sally gestured again, making Fi lose her grip a little more.

"Help!" Fi's scream rang across the rooftop.

-X-

Jack was looking through the curtains, watching his mom perform, and he frowned when he saw that she was acting strangely. Her movements seemed jerkier, less graceful than she usually was onstage. Suddenly, he gasped when he was overwhelmed by…something; something that told him his sister was in trouble. He looked around and saw that she wasn't where he'd seen her when their mom had started playing, and he started to panic; however, his instincts told her that she was…on the roof. He didn't know how he knew that, but he ran to the stairs he'd seen earlier; when he got to the top, he spotted a ladder against a wall that led to a trapdoor and, without hesitation, climbed it.

He froze when he saw Fi; she was holding onto something, and it looked like she was being pulled upward by something unseen. He also saw the girl he'd seen his sister hanging around with, and everything inside him screamed for him to do something. Gritting his teeth, he ran forward on pure instinct and tackled the girl.

Fi let out an "oof" when she hit the ground, free of Sally's spell, and she scrambled to her feet to see Sally and Jack struggling.

-X-

Molly stepped forward, still singing, and knowing the entire time that she was going to fall into the void and never return. Her foot poised over the edge, but Bayou Joe's came rushing back as the world returned to normal. Nobody was controlling her, and she got the overwhelming sense that everything was going to be okay. She got back into her normal concert energy and finished the song.

-X-

"Jack! Watch out!" She ran forward, but she stopped when she saw that Sally was shaking violently. A look of horror on her face, she charged and grabbed Jack, pulling him back and throwing him out of the way. She heard the same sound she'd heard on the rooftop in New York, and a scream escaped her when the evil spirits burst from Sally's fallen form and loomed over her. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she fought through the fear that threatened to paralyze her and reached into her bag, pulling out the jar of brick dust and making a circle around herself and Jack. The spirits flew forward, but shot back when the protective magic repelled them.

"You can't hurt me!" Her words of defiance made the shadows recoil and, before her eyes, they vanished. She let out a huge sigh of relief and fell to her knees, helping Jack up.

"What's going on here, Fi?" He almost fell backwards when his sister latched onto him.

"We're okay, Jack. We're okay." They both got up and walked over to Sally, who was still. "Is she…dead?"

Jack knelt beside her and out two fingers to her neck. "No, she's still alive. Just unconscious."

"Could you carry her outside?" Jack nodded and picked her up, hoisting her into a fireman's carry so he could get her down the ladder. When they were finally outside the club, Fi jumped when she saw Miss Grange standing there.

"Miss Grange, I'm so sorry. It was Sally who was crossing me. She just tried to kill me."

Miss Grange smiled a partial smile. "No, it wasn't her that tried to kill you. She's been tainted by evil. Set her down." Jack did as she asked and she walked over to the girl, waving a hand over her eyes; in a daze, Sally got up. "Don't worry, she's fine. I'm going to bind her powers so she can never open herself up to evil spirits again."

"Thank you so much." Fi smiled at her before turning to Jack. "What do you say we go inside and watch Mom finish her show?"

Jack let out a sigh before chuckling. "You know, I doubt anyone but me would put up with all this." They walked inside just in time for the concert to finish. Molly came backstage, overjoyed; she ran to her kids and swept them up in a hug.

"Mom, you were great! I'm so glad you finished the song!" Fi stepped back and beamed.

"I think I could get used to performing for big crowds! Carey, you were great!" She embraced the guitarist when she saw him emerge from the curtains.

"Well, get used to it. I've been booking you at some pretty popular places!" Irene raised her voice to be heard over the commotion backstage.

Molly turned to Fi with a worried look, but Fi smiled. "Don't worry, Mom. Everything's okay."

-X-

Back in the hotel, after everyone was asleep, Jack put down the book he was reading. What had happened on the roof of the club? How did he know she was up there? When it came to weird stuff, he preferred to put it out of his mind and focus on the fact that he had an amazing family; that was usually enough to make him forget about it. With a sigh, he slid under the covers and turned off the lights; of course, Carey had been asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. In a few minutes, Jack was sound asleep.

-X-

_He shivered as the night air penetrated his armor, chilling him to the bone. His horse was fine, which was all that mattered; well, that, and keeping a vigilant eye. There had been reports of bandits attacking people on the roads, and Henri had been adamant at increasing their patrols to ensure that nobody else got robbed._

_Suddenly, a glimmer of light in the forest near the road caught his attention; though he knew he shouldn't abandon his patrol, he felt an irresistible urge to follow it. He jumped off of his horse and led it to a tree where he tied it up, making sure the knot was secure before heading in the direction he'd seen the light. He pressed on until he came to a clearing and jumped when a ball of light appeared in front of him. Though he was terrified, he didn't move as it grew to engulf him._


	8. S3, E7: Annie

**Season 3, Episode 7: Annie**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Like "Voodoo," I thought this was a season 3 episode that I could put a fresh spin on and pay homage to. This goes out to everyone who disliked Annie.**

_The power of attraction is a strange thing. Call it what you will; electricity, magnetism, but I think people have it too. Some people attract luck, others attract friends, and as for me…well, I attract paranormal stuff. Yeah, I look hard to find weird things, but could it be that there's something in me that attracts the supernatural? And if that's the case, are there other people like me?_

A sizzle and smoke filled the air as Molly and Irene cooked, drawing Jack, Carey, and Clu like moths to a flame.

"The one thing I missed about being away at college was the home cooked meals." Clu eyed the pan of cooking ground beef hungrily.

"I am _not_ going back to UC Santa Cruz with you just so you can have home cooked meals. You'll have to make do with the dining hall." Irene gave him a look before going back to chopping onions.

"Aww, come on, Mom! What could be better than staying with me in my dorm and cooking?" Clu put on his "pouty face."

Carey shot Irene a knowing glance. "I've got this." He turned to his brother. "What's the sound of one hand clapping?" Clu's eyes gazed over as he muttered to himself, obviously stumped by the logical paradox, making Carey and Jack laugh.

When the doorbell rang, Molly's eyes went wide. "That must be Lisa! Jack, could you help Irene for a second?"

"Sure, Mom." Jack stepped up to the stove and his mother hurried out of the room to the front door. When she opened it, a blond woman's face lit up.

"Lisa!" Both women embraced. "It's been so long since I last saw you!"

"Oh, Molly, I've missed you too, and you look great! How's the musical career going? Wait, what am I doing? Where are my manners? You remember my daughter, Annie?" She put her hands on the shoulder of a blond young girl who had to be around Fi's age.

"Annie! I haven't seen you since you were six!" Molly embraced her.

"We've been in going to a lot of different places. We just got back from Pakistan." Annie grinned.

"Oh, and I'm sorry Kevin couldn't come." Molly got a sad look on her face.

"He sends his apologies. He got called in for an emergency meeting with the head of our department at the university." Lisa smiled in an effort to alleviate her friend's sadness.

"Well, come inside, both of you. I've got to introduce you to everyone." Molly ushered them in the door and closed it behind them, leading them straight to the kitchen.

When dinner had been served, everyone gathered around the living room in front of a fire.

"Pakistan sounds amazing, Annie. It must be so cool going around to all the digs with your parents." Fi wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. I've seen some pretty interesting stuff." Annie smiled over her tacos.

"So out of all the places you've been, where's your favorite?"

"I think it'd have to be…Peru. I was really young when I went, but it's always felt the most like home out of anywhere else I've been—"

Lisa cut her off. "Now, Annie, you don't have to bore them, telling them about _everywhere_ we've been." Her lips pursed and she went back to eating.

Molly chimed in. "Oh, come on, Lisa, don't be modest! You guys have been everywhere! I mean, we only go around the United States, but you've been all over the world!"

While talk of the Thelens' exploits continued, Fi got up and excused herself to go get seconds. As she piled more food on her plate, Annie walked in.

"Your family makes the best tacos! I mean, the ones in Mexico were pretty good, but I think these are better because they were made at home." The blond girl smiled at Fi.

"I just wish I had the chance to go to Mexico. The farthest I've been outside the country is Vancouver." Fi chuckled, and Annie looked past her and out the window.

"Oh my gosh! That's the biggest firefly I've ever seen! Mom! Come here! Look at this!"

When Annie said something, Fi looked up and her jaw hit the floor when she saw a floating orb of light hovering around outside the kitchen window. Annie ran out of the room and Fi approached the glass.

"What do you want?" Her words were cold, and she got chills when it flew around, leaving a spectral trail that spelled out YOU before it and the light vanished, just in time for Annie and Lisa to enter the room.

"I swear, it was…huh. I guess it's gone." Lisa gave her daughter a look before they both exited the kitchen.

"He'll be back." Fi's words flew under her breath as she too left the kitchen, still feeling chilled. She went back into the living room to finish her dinner.

-X-

As Molly, Lisa, and Irene brought dishes into the kitchen, Molly jumped out of the way when Annie and Fi came charging toward the staircase.

"Whoa, whoa, hey! Where are you guys going?" Molly took a deep breath to steady herself.

Annie smiled mischievously. "If we move fast enough, the guys'll be stuck with the dishes."

"Her idea. I like this girl!" Fi laughed and they both ran up the stairs, leaving the adults to chuckle at their antics.

Molly shook her head as she piled plates on top of each other. "Annie seems like she's quite the handful. I think I know the feeling."

Lisa looked down into the meat she was placing into Tupperware. "Well, she's just happy to see you again. Sometimes, I don't think that traveling is the best thing for her." She looked back up at Molly.

"Lisa, what happened in Peru?"

Lisa's eyes went wide. "What do you mean?"

"When Annie started talking about it, you looked like you'd just drank a gallon of hot sauce." Irene laughed.

"Oh…well, it was nothing, really. We just got scared. The jungle's a big place for a little girl."

"Hey, our family usually has four wheels under it. We've seen some pretty scary stuff on the road." Molly began washing dishes.

"It's just…I sometimes think that she should really have a stable place to stay. She's been having…"

"Having what?"

"I don't even know how to explain it. Hallucinations? We're not entirely sure. She says she's seen…oh, I've forgotten what she said it was."

Molly froze as she gripped a plate, and then turned to face her friend. "Have you talked to her about it? I mean, _really_ talked to her?"

Lisa paused. "Not really. We just thought she was tired of being on the road."

"Maybe Fi can find out what's going on. She's…imaginative, to say the least."

-X-

Annie looked around as soon as they got to Fi's room. "Wow! This room is great!"

Fi smiled. "Thanks. I've had it for as long as I can remember."

"What's that?" Annie gestured toward the instrument leaning against the wall.

"Oh, that's my dad's guitar. I haven't played it in a while."

"Would you mind if I did?"

Fi raised an eyebrow. "Sure. I didn't know you played."

"I just know one song. My parents did a dig in Italy and an old man taught me how to play it." The blond girl picked the guitar up and strapped it around herself as she sat on the bed. Her fingers flew over the strings, plucking out a series of notes.

"That was great!"

"Thanks." Annie beamed. "I'm not really musically inclined, so I'm surprised I can play it so well. I'm more of an artist."

"Really?"

"Yeah! I really like to paint. I think my mom even brought one of my paintings." Annie looked down and blushed.

"What's it of?"

The other girl looked up with wide eyes. "Oh, my painting? A panther."

"It sounds cool, actually."

"Not really. That panther…it follows me."

Fi blanched. "What?"

"Ever since we left Peru, I've seen it everywhere I go. I don't know why."

"Are you sure you're not just seeing things?"

"Well, I'm not really sure. There was this one time…

-X-

"_What kind of donut are you getting, Annie?" Lisa looked back at her daughter and smiled._

"_I don't know! I haven't had a doughnut in forever!" Annie smiled back, a thousand times more excited._

"_I, for one, am surprised that we couldn't find a donut shop in the middle of the Gobi Desert." Kevin chuckled._

"_We've been gone for a really long time." Annie looked out the window at the passing city, but her eyes narrowed when she looked out the front. Something was walking onto the road, and the car was getting closer…_

"_Look out!"_

_Kevin slammed on the brakes at his daughter's scream, and both parents looked on as a car zoomed through the intersection just in front of them._

"_We almost hit that car!" Lisa's entire body was trembling as she turned around to look in the back seat at her daughter, wide eyed._

-X-

Fi's jaw was almost to the floor as Annie finished her story. From the sound of things…

"So you think the panther saved you?"

The blond girl shrugged. "I don't know. I've seen it at night in my room…it kinda freaks me out, but nobody believes me when I tell them."

"Oh, believe me, you'd have to be a lot weirder than that for me to not believe you."

Lisa popped in the room. "Annie, it's time for bed. We've got a big day tomorrow. Molly and I are taking everyone into town to go to the mall. Fi, your mom said lights out."

Annie sighed. "Okay, Fi, I'll see you in the morning."

Fi eyed the girl warily. "See you."

-X-

The next day, everyone was milling about the house, anxious for the chance to go into town. Fi was looking around on the internet, trying to find something that might tell her what was following Annie around; so far, she hadn't had any luck, and it was making her want to strangle the internet. She clicked onto a page when Annie came into the room.

"Hey, are you ready to go? Our moms are practically herding everyone out the door." Annie chuckled.

"Yeah, I'll be right there. I just have to find my jacket." Annie turned to leave, but Fi's eyes darted to the bedroom window, catching a glimpse of a ball of light zooming into the room, headed straight for…

"Annie, look out!" The orb hit the girl and flew off, and Annie whipped around to look at Fi.

"What is it?"

Fi stared at her. "You're…you."

Annie looked away and bit her lip. "Okay…I'll just go tell Molly that you'll be a couple minutes." With that, she left the room to see the Will o' the Wisp hovering in front of her.

"Ach, I hate people like her. She should come with a warning label." A Scottish lilt tinged the Wisp's speech.

"What do you mean?" Fi narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, there's no time for that. You've got to hurry. You're in grave danger!" There was a small _whoosh_ as it zoomed into the screen of her laptop. "My word, this internet thing is amazing! I can go anywhere I want in seconds!"

"Stop being cryptic. How am I in danger?"

"You've angered those on the other side by intruding into their world. Your family will be in grave danger if you don't do something! D'you have that old book of magic, by any chance?"

"The book from my aunt's theater company? Yeah, why?"

"Go and get it."

She sighed before getting up and going to her closet, where she reached up and retrieved the spell tome.

"Open to the fiftieth page, second incantation, and read."

She opened to the page, but stopped when she got to the spell. "Wait, why do you want me to read this one? Why not…this one? Or this one?" She pointed to the other spells on the page, and Bricriu hissed. "Why don't you want me to read the other ones? Is this the one that sends you away forever?"

"You stupid girl! You don't know what you're messing with!"

"I know exactly what I'm messing with. Spirits fly, break down the wall. All is lost, for changed are all!"

Briciru shimmered on her screen. "No! Noooooo!" With a fading cry, it vanished and she closed the book, a smile on her face. Satisfied that she'd read the right spell, she got up and grabbed her jacket, slipping it on as Clu walked into the room.

"Hey, Fi, let's go! I want some mall nachos!"

"How many times is everyone going to come and get me?"

Clu's eyes went wide. "Hey, is that the book from that play?"

"What, Macbeth?"

"Oh, no! You can't say the name of that play. It's bad luck." He looked down as the book started to glow.

"Clu! Drop the book!"

"I can't!" The glow became brighter and brighter as it engulfed him, and when it faded, he was gone. She ran downstairs and stopped in the kitchen, where Carey was eyeing his food options.

"Hey, Fi, you'd better go outside. Your mom's getting impatient."

"Okay, okay." Her heart stopped when Carey vanished, and she ran outside where she saw her mom and Lisa walking to the car. "Mom! Mom!" Her cries stopped when they both vanished as well. "What have I done?" She ran over to the side of the house and turned around when she heard a voice.

_Hey, Fi!_

She turned around to see a black dog sitting there.

"Uh…Jack? Is that you?"

_Of course it's me!_

"Where's everyone else?"

_Ned and Irene are in the garden. Oh, look, a squirrel! Get back here!_ Jack ran off, leaving her more puzzled than ever. She made her way back into the house and went upstairs to wake her laptop up.

"Come on…undo!" She clicked the command on the toolbar and a light faded back into existence.

"What's going on? What have you done to me?"

"I…I cast the wrong spell."

"You stupid girl! I warned you!"

"I know, I know! How do I fix it?"

"If I tell you how to fix it, will you do what I ask and read the right spell? Without question?"

"Yes, yes, I promise! Just help me!"

"All you need to do is read the incantation after the one you read."

"But the magic book disappeared with Clu!"

"Oh, well, then, I guess you're out of luck. Find me when you get it!" Bricriu vanished, leaving her to stew. She jumped when a cat landed on her windowsill, accompanied by a call.

"Fi?"

"Annie? Is that you?" She got up and walked over to the window, scratching the animal behind the ear.

"I didn't know you had a cat!"

Fi turned around to see Annie standing in her doorway, and she breathed a sigh of relief. "You're…you!"

"Yeah, I don't think I changed overnight…is there something on my face?"

"No, I just thought…never mind."

"Have you seen our moms? I can't find them anywhere. There's a rabbit in your fridge, though."

"Yeah, it must've gotten in through the open door. Why don't you go look in the garage, and I'll look outside?"

"That sounds good." They both walked out of the room, and Fi stopped in the kitchen as soon as Annie was out of sight.

"Hey, Carey, have you seen Clu?"

_Yeah, he's in the backyard with mom and dad. They were looking at the garden._

"Thanks." She left the kitchen and walked out back to see two very tall flowers.

_Hello, Fiona. Nice day, isn't it?_

"It sure is." She hurried by them and rounded the corner. "Hey, that tree's never been there before…Clu? Is that you?"

_Oh, hey, Fi. I was just taking a nap in the sun._

"Listen, I need the book you were holding."

Annie came out the back door just in time to see Fi get showered by leaves. "Is it fall already?"

Fi turned around. "Oh, this tree loses its leaves really easily."

"Oh, okay." Annie looked down and frowned. "Is that writing on the leaves?"

Fi stooped down and picked up a leaf printed with a Gaelic word and her eyes went wide. "Annie! Help me gather all of the leaves with writing on them!"

Both of them picked up all the leaves they could and hurried up to Fi's room, where they laid them down on the floor; before long, the puzzle formed the spell Fi needed to read.

"Okay, let's try this. Trapped inside the mirror's crack, break the glass and bring them back." A wind kicked up in the room and both of them covered their heads; when it stopped, they looked around to see no trace that the leaves were there. They both felt a shaky feeling in their stomach.

"So, the wind just blew the leaves out the window?" Annie's face was a partial grimace.

"Yeah, just go with that."

-X-

Jack came to with a ball in his mouth.

Ned and Irene looked around as they stepped out of a patch of dirt, soil covering the lower part of their pants.

Carey found himself on his knees in front of the open vegetable crisper, and he pulled a carrot out of it and stood up, eating it.

Molly shook water off of her as Lisa eyed her, perplexed.

"I remember walking to get the car, and then wanting to go swimming?"

Molly took the car keys out of her mouth. "I found the car keys."

-X-

"Well, look at you, little duck, fixing spells all on your own." Bricriu flitted around the screen as Fi sat down with the book. Annie had gone downstairs to find her mom.

"Yeah, no thanks to you."

"Hey, now, I was the one who tried to get you to read the right spell in the first place."

"I'm talking about reading the right spell in the first place. Why did you come here?"

"I told you, because the spirits on the other side are displeased. You've been sniffing around, intruding into their world, and they want you stopped."

"Just like they stopped my father?"

"It wasn't his—"

"His what?"

"Never mind; I've said too much. Now are you gonna read the spell like you promised?"

Fi paused before closing the book. "No. Not until you tell me what it does."

"What it does is protect you and your family from coming to any more harm."

"Let's see. You," she held up fingers as she spoke, "possessed my brother, possessed my mother _and_ almost got us all killed, and then you come back and ask me to do something to keep my family safe?"

"Aye, I've slighted you before, but I'm serious this time, Fiona."

"Yeah right. I can't trust you!"

"If you don't trust me, trust this: worse things than what happened in New York are coming for you."

"Worse things? You know, for someone who's trying to help me, you're being very vague. It's pretty hard to trust you...actually, it's pretty hard to trust you since I never really could in the first place."

"Read the spell, Fiona!"

"No! Now, once and for all, begone, Bricriu!"

"You'll pay for this, Fiona Phillips!" With that, the Wisp faded from view, leaving Fi to breathe a sigh of relief. She looked up just in time to see Annie come in the room.

"Who were you talking to?" The blonde girl's brow knit.

"Oh, just chatting with someone online. I was trying out some new voice chat software my friend Tad designed." She hadn't thought about the computer programmer in a while, but thinking about their encounter in the cheesy Hawaiian hotel made her wonder if she was ever going to figure out whether she could make alien contact again.

"Wow. That's pretty advanced. Oh, I wanted to tell you that our moms don't really feel like going to the mall anymore. They wanted to walk around the lake."

"I figured." Fi chuckled. "So, what was up with your mom last night?"

Annie walked over and sat on the bed, making Fi turn her chair around to face her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when you mentioned Peru, it seemed like she didn't want you to talk about it."

Annie frowned. "You know, I don't really remember. I mean, I remember getting lost in the jungle, but then I woke up back at camp. I don't know how I got back; I think I was just sleepwalking."

"Wait, you don't remember what happened to you after you wandered away?"

"Nope. I've tried before, but it's like my mind just skips over it. Like a record."

Fi's brow knit and she turned around to focus on her laptop. Her fingers flew over the keys as she opened a search engine, and Annie got up to stand behind her, putting her hand on the back of the chair.

"What are you looking up?" She squinted as she read the screen. "Whoa, unlocking memories?"

Fi's eyes scanned the list of results popped up. "Yeah. Sometimes, people can't remember things because they block them out. It happens with bad memories, usually." She clicked on a link, and she drank in the contents of the article that popped up.

"What did that page say?" Annie peered at the words.

"It says that hypnosis can get past the blocks that people put up and let them remember things that they made themselves forget."

"Why would I make myself forget what happened in the jungle."

Fi opened another page. "There are stories about other things that can make people forget. Lotus flowers, water from a river in Greek mythology called Lethe, but most of those are just dismissed as fiction."

"Something _made_ me forget?"

Fi turned around. "Could be. Would you try hypnosis?"

Annie drew back. "I dunno, Fi. What if something goes wrong?"

"The article I pulled up said that it's safe as long as I don't plant any suggestions in your head. You know, like making you bark every time someone says your name."

"I still don't know..."

"Come on. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing that's happened to you since you got here."

Annie bit her lip. "You know, hypnosis doesn't seem as weird as leaves with magic writing on them. What do I need to do?"

Fi spent the next few minutes instructing her, making her sit up on the bed. When Annie was ready, Fi began.

"Okay, I want you to close your eyes." Slowly, she coached the blond girl, relaxing different parts of her body until her shoulders drooped. "Now, as I count down from ten, I want you to get more and more relaxed. Keep relaxing until you feel yourself falling backward into a big feather bed. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." Annie slowly fell backward onto the bed, chest moving in shallow crests. "Now Annie, I want you to go back. Back through the darkness to Peru. In the jungle. Try to remember what happened that night.

-X-

_The blond girl sat up in her tent, looking around. She'd heard something out in the jungle, but mom and dad didn't seem to be waking up. Holding her breath, she unzipped her tent's flap and walked outside, turning her head and hoping to pick up on any noise. She heard a rustle somewhere in front of her, and she took a few tentative steps forward before picking up the pace. The rustling was gradually getting louder as she walked, and before she knew it, she reached a clearing by the river._

_She stood perfectly still as she took in what she saw: a dark skinned boy with paint on his face, frozen like she was. A snake reared up held the young man transfixed, and Annie finally broke the silence._

"_Hey!"_

_Almost instantaneously, the snake's head swiveled to regard her for a brief moment before it struck. Its fangs sunk into the little girl's flesh and she inhaled before a chill overtook her, causing her to collapse._

_After a few moments, an old man came out of the trees; one that looked like the boy that was kneeling by the fallen girl. He was decorated in feathers and bone necklaces, and he glanced at her before picking her up. They walked through the jungle, following the scent of smoke, until they arrived at a hut nestled in the foliage. The man set the girl down and picked up a stick with a skull hanging from a string at its end, and he waved it over here, chanting in a language only a handful of people on the planet knew. As his voice lilted, a black vapor rose from her body and dissipated in the air; a gasp escaped the girl's lungs._

_The man's language formed more words. "Little one, you have saved my son. Now, I give you a gift." Just outside the hut, a panther materialized, eyes shining with a golden light. The girl's eyes fluttered open, looking into the man's._

-X-

Annie let out a small gasp as her eyes shot open, making Fi jerk back from her.

"What? What is it?" The brunette held all of her muscles tight.

The blond girl sat up, shaking. "I...I saw what happened in Peru. I found this boy...and there was a snake. It bit me, but someone brought me back to life." She shook her head, as if to slough off the vision she'd just had. "How is that possible? And what does that have to do with the panther? I saw it, but the man said something about...a gift? This is all way too confusing."

Fi put a hand on Annie's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll get to the bottom of this."

"I think I need to go on a walk."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I think I'll be okay. I just need to think about what happened in the jungle."

"Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

Annie gave a half-smile as she nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Fi just as puzzled. Frowning, she went to her laptop and opened the search engine. When she typed in "panther," all she found were articles about the animal, and she paused to think. The panther had saved Annie's life once, and from what she could gather, it had something to do with a gift; she bit her lip before typing in another term: spirit animals. The engine loaded thousands of results, and she clicked on the first one.

_Many different people have told legends of spirits that take the form of animals. In some Native American cultures, animal spirits are revered as deities of sorts, symbolizing a connection with nature, but there are others that believe animal spirits live side by side with humans as companions or guardians. Long ago..._

"Guardians." The word slipped from her mouth in a whisper, but it was a key that unlocked a mental door. The panther had saved Annie's life. The man from the jungle had said something about a gift, but why would he give the panther as a gift? What had Annie done? The boy...and the snake...and how Bricriu couldn't possess her...

Suddenly, everything clicked into place.

Fi grabbed her jacket and ran downstairs, stopping when she saw Lisa and Molly in the kitchen. "Have you seen Annie?"

Lisa looked upward. "I think she said she wanted to walk around the lake."

"Thanks." With that, she ran out of the house and toward the lake. Her feet pounded the path and eventually, she found Annie walking up the road. "Annie! I figured it out!"

"Figured what out?"

"The panther! When you found the boy in the jungle, who was the snake looking at?"

"The boy. Why?"

"You saved that boy from being bitten by the snake. The man who healed you was a shaman; that's why he brought you back to life, but the gift he mentioned was the panther. It's a guardian spirit."

"A guardian?"

"He gave it to you for saving that boy, to protect you from harm. That's why it saved you from that car accident."

Annie had stopped walking, processing this new information and staring into space. When Fi was finished, she remained silent. "The boy was his son."

Now it was Fi's turn to be confused. "Huh?"

"I remember now. When he brought be back to life, he said something and I still don't know how I understood him. He said, 'Thank you for saving my son.'"

-X-

The next day, everyone convened in the living room as Lisa and Annie stood next to their bags.

"Molly, I can't say thank you enough for your hospitality. Annie seems a lot happier now." Lisa beamed at her friend.

"Well, I can't take all the credit. Annie spent more time with Fi than anyone." Molly chuckled.

"Whatever you did, thank you." Lisa stepped over to Fi and gave her a hug.

"Here, I'll help you with your bags." Jack grabbed the suitcases, taking them outside to Lisa's car. Fi and Annie lingered in the house.

"So, are you worried about being crazy anymore?" Fi laughed.

"Not really. There's some pretty weird stuff out there, but at least I have someone watching out for me. Thanks for helping me figure it out, though."

"Hey, weird stuff is what I do." Both laughing, they walked out to the car and Molly, Fi, and Jack waved as the Thelens pulled away. As they did, Fi caught sight of something behind a tree across the road, and she squinted to see the outline of a large black cat; its eyes glowed briefly before it vanished, leaving a smile on her face.


End file.
